CMHA recognizes the impact of supportive housing for National Housing Day

Having a place to call home is key to recovery from mental health and addictions issues. That’s the message CMHA-WECB is sharing with their community on National Housing Day on November 22.

With 1.7 million people in need of housing across Canada, National Housing Day calls on the need for safe and affordable housing for all Canadians. For people with mental illness or addictions, supportive housing can provide a stable foundation. This can take various forms, from Housing First with optional supports, to dedicated high-support apartment buildings.

Supportive housing provides an anchor for life. Research indicates that having a place to call home means a better quality of life and success in education and work. It improves outcomes from even severe mental health and addictions problems. Supportive housing can also decrease problematic drug and alcohol use and it has the potential to improve physical health and social inclusion.

That’s why supportive housing is consistently identified as one of the top priorities by our local CMHA branches.

CMHA-WECB provides supported subsidized housing for individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have a mental illness. The program works with private market landlords in the community acting in a liaison capacity to assist with providing access to safe, affordable and stable housing for consumers who are receiving community support services. This program provides:

• Safe affordable access to housing
• Community based private market housing
• Search for affordable housing
• Landlord/tenant resolution and tenancy support
• Supports to maintain housing in the community

Individuals with a mental illness living in Windsor and Essex County over the age of 16 who are involved in intensive case management with CMHA-WECB and/or other appropriate mental health services are eligible for services.

Provincewide, CMHAs provide about 30 per cent of all the mental health supportive housing units and nearly 20 per cent of the total residential addiction support.

Evidence from the nationwide housing-first demonstration project, At Home/Chez Soi, found that $10 invested in housing-first services resulted in an average reduction in costs of other services of $9.60 for high-needs participants and $3.42 for moderate-needs participants. Over a two-year period, every $10 invested in housing-first services resulted in an average savings of $21.72.

Visit ontario.cmha.ca/housing to learn more about the importance of housing for mental health.