A new study indicates that homelessness costs the Canadian government a considerable amount each year.
An estimated 35,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night, and over 235,000 experience homelessness over the course of a year. The study, published in CMAJ Open, examined the average annual costs that homeless people with mental illnesses generate for society as a whole. The study selected participants in the At Home/Chez Soi program for up to 2 years, and measured costs to Canadian society along a broad spectrum of elements, such as costs for supportive housing, substance use treatment, emergency and hospital admissions, police and justice-sector involvement as well as costs to social services.
The study found that, excluding medications, overall costs per person ranged from about $56 000 per year in Canada’s 3 largest cities to about $30 000 per year in Moncton.
CMHA Ontario supports the ‘Housing First’ model that formed the core principle of the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s At Home/Chez soi pilot project. In partnership with other stakeholders, CMHA Ontario continues its efforts to raise awareness and promote the need for housing in general and supportive housing in particular for people with lived experience of mental illness (PWLE). Through our most recent pre-budget submission and our long-term affordable housing submission, CMHA Ontario has called for increased investments in housing, as well as the need to reduce barriers to housing as one way to reduce the overall costs to health care, police and justice, and social services sectors.
For more information about the study, visit the CMAJ Open website.