9.0 Funding Analysis

As discussed above, pre-pandemic funding provided to City funded shelters ranged from $23,629 to $42,355 per bed per year. Although, it should be noted that this does not include food for family shelter clients. Likewise, it does not include the additional housing workers that provide services to Salvation Army and motel clients, which are funded separately. Whereas, they are included in the shelter service provider’s funding for single women .

If the funding currently provided to shelters to cover additional costs during the pandemic continues, the additional funding would be approximately $16,000 - $17,500 per bed per year at the Welcome Centre and Salvation Army 33 . For the Downtown Mission, funding at that shelter would be approximately $11,000 per bed per year for incremental COVID-19 costs, not including regular operating costs.

Even before the pandemic, shelters were a more expensive option than other responses to homelessness. Amidst the pandemic, shelters are significantly more expensive. In Windsor Essex, a rent subsidy costs approximately $4,500 annually, Housing With Supports Homes cost approximately $18,250, and Housing First Intensive Case Management (Housing Response) with rental assistance costs $9,670 34 . This does include the social and human costs. In addition to being cheaper, putting someone in housing is more humane and reduces their risk of COVID-19. The longer someone remains homeless, the greater likelihood that their physical and mental health will deteriorate and there is an increased chance of an early death. To this end, it is important the City continues to endeavour to increase its investments in prevention and housing and supports rather than emergency responses. That said, given the number of people currently accessing shelters over the course of a year, the City could not meet homelessness needs in the short term by transferring all investments from shelters into prevention and/or housing and supports.

Pre-pandemic, for $23,629 per bed per year (the lowest rate currently provided to the shelters), most shelter providers serving singles should have been able to provide core service levels that align with those being recommended in this report (which include three meals per day). Shelters with fewer than 20 beds, such as the Welcome Centre’s current facility, require higher funding levels per bed, as they are not able to benefit from economies of scale. With an average family size is 3.8 people, shelter service providers serving families, and providing three meals per day, require higher average funding per room than for singles.

Some of the additional costs for shelters amidst the pandemic will decrease following the initial/peak period, while others will continue. It is too early to accurately estimate the additional funding that will be required to provide core service levels that align with those being recommended in this report amidst the pandemic. For a given shelter, it depends in part on how closely the existing design of the shelter aligns with public health guidelines amidst the pandemic. Shelters, such as the Salvation Army and Downtown Mission, that have had to switch from congregate sleeping spaces to more sleeping spaces