This 2007 – 2010 Homelessness and Affordable Housing Plan has been drafted as a three year plan to address the assets, gaps and set out priorities for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) in consultation with its Homelessness Initiative Steering Committee (HISC) partners. The Plan has been used to guide funding from and to various partners and is a component of the National Homelessness Partnership Strategy. The Plan was developed in consultation with the HISC partners and opportunity was made for broader public input. This Plan was developed with three main phases. An initial issue identification phase was undertaken in order to interview and consult with key housing experts and officials. During this phase an outline of the Situation Analysis was undertaken along with a mapping of existing housing assets and identification of gaps resulting in a Continuum of Support and Housing framework or model. The work from the issue identification phase was brought forward into a Housing Forum on August 2 in Fort McMurray. The Forum served to review the current situation, identify the existing housing assets (and gaps) in the Continuum of Housing Supports model, and identify priorities and partnerships. The results of the Forum were used to draft this Plan along with a detailed review of the housing environment, interviews with key officials and experts and follow-up reviews with many Forum participants. The Plan intended to implement the current vision of an inclusive community with opportunities for everyone to have a healthy, safe place to live. To guide the Plan’s implementation, three principles and seven objectives were developed: Principles

• Ensure the safety and security of individuals and families (food, clothing, warmth, safety from harm;

• Provide a continuum of care approach for those seeking shelter; and

• Work together to achieve common objectives and achieve partnerships between sectors and/or agencies.

Objectives:

1. Prevention of Homelessness;

2. Reduction of Homelessness/ Transition to housing stability;

3. Social integration of persons who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness;

4. Improvements to service quality, service capacity and coordination;

5. Opportunities for a place to live;

6. Developing an inclusive community; and

7. Planned and coordinated approach.

The Plan took a more detailed look at the situational challenges than the previous two plans. Most factors addressed in the previous Plans trended to the negative and include: housing conditions, homelessness, affordability and organizational capacity which have all become more challenging despite the efforts of many committed agencies. The objectives, priorities and implementation roles identified in the Plan require stronger partnerships and more commitments to redirect existing trends to the positive. A number of recommendations point to both bricks and mortar and planning and organizational approaches to address the challenge.

Summary Credit:
Homelessness-Related Research Capacities in Alberta: A Comprehensive Environmental Scan, prepared by Dr. Katharina Kovacs Burns, MSc, MHSA, PhD and Dr. Solina Richter, PhD, RN for The Alberta Homelessness Research Consortium (2010)