Community Dashboard: Number chronically homeless
Rationale and analysis
How we measure this data
Oversight from Niagara Region Community Services, Homelessness Services and Community Engagement.
Chronic homeless refers to individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness AND who meet at least one of the following criteria:
1. They have a total of at least six months (180 days) of homelessness over the past year
2. They have recurrent experiences of homelessness over the past three years, with a cumulative duration of at least eighteen months (546 days).
Progress and advancements
Niagara Region established its chronic active homelessness baseline in September 2020, which included 306 individuals. The target for this period is to reduce chronic homelessness to 275 individuals. Therefore, at this time, this indicator is below its target.
About this indicator
Chronic homelessness includes time spent in the following contexts:
1. Staying in unsheltered locations, that is public or private spaces without consent or contract, or places not intended for permanent human habitation.
2. Staying in emergency shelters, including overnight shelters for people experiencing homelessness (including those for specific populations, such as youth, families, and newcomers), shelters for people impacted by family violence and emergency shelters for people fleeing a natural disaster or destruction of accommodation
3. Staying temporarily with others without guarantee of continued residency or the immediate prospects for accessing permanent housing, or short-term rental accommodations (for example, motels) without security of tenure
It does not include situations where individuals have access to secure, permanent housing, whether subsidized or not. The definition also does not include time spent in transitional housing.
More information
© Niagara Region - 1815 Sir Isaac Brock Way, Thorold, ON, L2V 4T7 - Phone: 905-980-6000, Toll-free: 1-800-263-7215
