Answer: Stephen Harper

…maybe he got a visit from Jacob Marley?

and anyhoo, the money comes from Canadian’s taxes.

Home

Seriously, articles in Toronto Star and on CTV and CBC about the “At Home” programme intitated by the Canadian Mental Health Commission. The basic idea of the programme switches priorities for support offered to homeless people.

For many, life without a home is compounded by the difficulties of also living with thinking and emotional difficulties, stigma,  and also with multiple,  accute and chronic health issues. There may also may be trauma, violence, addictions, isolation, language difficulties and “involvement with the law”. Add to all that the effect of psychiatric drugs that can dull the brain’s ability operate and figure out how you might get out of that should you find youself there .

The current system of services typically seeks to deal with these issues before a person is able to find a home – which results in so many being trapped in the “revolving door”: being bounced from one service client  list to another – and mostly bouncing back to the street.

In the at home programme, that process is up-ended: priority is given to first offering a stable home so that a person can start to look after themself,  supports can find them – and offer assistance  in creating their own programme to begin to learn how to live with the many difficulties they face.

The programme is a trial operating in five centres across Canada – including one Toronto, where it is run by Across Boundaries. Half way through its five year timetable, early programme data reveals 70% to 80% of the 1,030  people in the “at home” programme are experiencing -sometimes dramatic- improvements in their lives .

D’oh!  eh?

Of course, it having been designed as “science”, the programme also includes a “control” – namely another 980 people who are stuck in the “revolving door” of the dismal  no change system.

If you’re like me you’re asking :

• what about the 980 human beings in the “control group”?
• how much more research do we need before we can accept that  treating each other more humanely works better or all of us?

Support

The programme has support from key individuals in the Canadian Government. So,  regardless of your politics keep your fingers crossed – they may get to like the results of doing good things that are compassionate, effective and cost less.

read it for yourself at…

• http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1107077–who-funds-biggest-project-ever-to-house-the-homeless-stephen-harper

• Who funds biggest project ever to house the homeless? Stephen Harper (thestar.com)

• Harper funds massive project to house the homeless (ctv.ca)

• Federally funded homeless project seeing results (cbc.ca)

• http://http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/a-housing-for-homeless-project-belies-harpers-hard-line-reputation/article2283837/ (Globe and Mail)