month’s rent that would allow them to regain housing and set them up for better housing outcomes in the future.

Drop-in/Help Centre

Any drop-in/help centres operated by the homeless service sector that are planned for the longer term should maintain a housing focus, supporting people to access housing and providing homelessness prevention services as well as providing services for basic needs and opportunities for socialization. The City should ensure integration of services between drop-in/help centres and shelters by collaborating with the drop-in/help centres and shelters to establish centralized information, referral and intake procedures, common assessment procedures, joint care planning, common service guidelines and protocols, and use of HIFIS by the drop-in/help centre.

The drop-in/help centre(s) should be located where people experiencing homelessness can easily access or be in the area where they congregate. To help ensure the drop-in/help centre is an integrated part of the community, and the drop-in/help centre should collaborate with the community and demonstrate responsibility for the community, by having strong property maintenance, regular cleaning around the facility, engaging in community service projects, and encouraging clients to take ownership and responsibility for the community.

Service delivery models

It is recommended the City’s preferred service delivery model be third-party service delivery with service agreements with non-profit service providers, although this may include private/public partnerships where most feasible and cost effective. Direct delivery has the potential for higher costs and would not allow the City to leverage the resources and existing expertise of community partners to meet shelter needs.

The City should explore opportunities for family shelter beds in a dedicated shelter facility. However, it should be recognized that funds are currently not available to support the initial capital investment for a shelter and this may limit the flexibility in the number of shelter beds available to families. However, it may be possible to re-target one of the existing/planned shelter facilities to families.

The City should explore opportunities for a small number of emergency shelter beds in Leamington. This may include (re-)exploring the use of hotels/motels and exploring the resources that community partners may have available. Diversion services and housing-focused supports should be provided by a service provider that is providing these services for other parts of the emergency shelter system.

For youth, it is recommended that, in the County in particular, the City explore opportunities for host homes as an option for youth35. This has worked well in York Region. Host homes can be a cost-effective and successful way of addressing youth homelessness. Youth can stay in their community and maintain existing natural supports.