Ensuring that all residents have an opportunity to participate in and contribute to York Region’s high quality of life and strong economy is a key to maintaining our health, well being, and prosperity in the face of rapid growth and diversity. Despite the relative wealth of the Region, there are vulnerable residents whose quality of life is compromised by barriers that prevent them from participating fully in their community and their local economy. This includes a significant number of residents who are at risk of homelessness and a relatively small population who are absolutely homeless. Without a responsive system of services and supports that keeps pace with rapid growth and urbanization, and which meets the needs of York Region’s increasingly diverse population, the number of people who are at risk will grow.

As the Region develops a growth management strategy to respond to our growing population’s demands for services, we are ideally positioned to address the risk of homelessness. We have worked with the community to understand the issue, the needs of vulnerable residents, and to develop strategies to address these needs. As we work to implement these strategies we check back frequently with the community to learn the impact of homelessness initiatives implemented to date and whether the needs have changed. This study is one such check point; it reviews the impacts of our efforts to date and the current status of homelessness in York Region, and recommends strategies for the future.