Working together so everyone has a good

place to call home

NLHHN October 26, 2011 Michael Shapcott Director, Housing and Innovation The Wellesley Institute

Let’s get clicking! Who is your favourite accordion player?

1.  Kris MacFarlane from Great Big Sea

2.  Minnie White, ‘first lady of accordion’ 3.  Words ‘favourite’ and ‘accordion’ don’t belong together!

Four observations:

!" Housing insecurity deep / persistent#" Costly to people, communities,

economy, government$" Federal housing / homelessness

investments eroding%" No comprehensive national plan

Growing numbers

Changing face of homelessness

Hidden needs

Complex links between housing, homelessness, poverty, poor health

OECD – growing unequal

Bad housing makes you sick!Homelessness:

Increased morbidityIncreased premature morality

Mental health:Alarming rates... especially

Clinical depression and anxietyControl / meaning Collective efficacy

Biological / physical:Chemicals, gases, pollutantsDesign (accidents) / crowdingSocio-economic:

Affordability / energy Transportation / income / jobs

Contextual:Individual / neighbourhood deprivation

networks / friends / crime

Good housing good for health!

Physical and mental health:Better health outcomes /

decreased health care utilization

Community safety:Reduced recidivism among people leaving incarceration

Affordability interventions:Income-based housing subsidies

Environment / physical infrastructure: New housing, repairs, heating, noise,

indoor + outdoor environmental issues,allergens, water + sanitation

Bad for people -

bad for economy

“We are used to thinking of affordable housing as a social and a health issue...”

“However, working to find solutions to problem of affordable housing is also smart economic policy. An inadequate supply of housing can be a major impediment to business investment and growth...”

Homelessness is bad for business and the federal government does not have a national plan to end homelessness in Canada.

While solutions to homelessness exist and efforts are being made by communities to implement solutions... the government has been unable to reduce the total number of homeless...

A national plan to end homelessness will clearly set goals, objectives, metrics and outcomes and provide the proper mechanisms...

September 2010

Federal gov’t: Housing investments have big economic impact

The story thus far:

Ø Deep housing insecurity

Ø Poor housing = poor health

Ø Good housing = good for health, good for economy

What’s happening in your community?

In my area over the last year, housing and homelessness issues are: 1.  Getting worse

2.  Getting better

3.  Staying about the same

UN Special Rapporteur, 2009

“Canada has a long and proud history of housing successes, and has been known around the world for its innovative housing solutions. The Special Rapporteur visited and received information about programmes, laws and policies that represent good practices... Canada can also rely on a tremendous range of academic and civil society resources.” !

“There has been a significant erosion of housing rights over the past two decades. Canada’s successful social housing programme, which created more than half a

million homes starting in 1973, has been discontinued.

1980s and 1990s:Era of big housing cuts

- even as economy roars

Federal housing cuts:

Federal 2011-12 Spending Estimates cut 39% in housing investments from $3.1 billion last year to $1.9

billion this year, including 97% cut to affordable housing initiative, 94% cut to housing repairs and 70% cut to

assisted housing.

Short-term federal housing and homelessness initiatives expire in 2014: All short-term funding ends,

including July 2011 federal-provincial-territorial affordable housing agreement. In addition, long-term “step out” of federal long-term housing commitments

(started in 1996) continues...

560,000

580,000

600,000

620,000

640,000

$1,500,000,000

$1,750,000,000

$2,000,000,000

$2,250,000,000

$2,500,000,000

$2,750,000,000

$3,000,000,000

2001

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

housing program estimated h/hs

CMHC corporate plan

In 2010, 40% of Newfoundland Labrador Housing’s total revenues

came from federal government

(down from 58% in 2004)

Total revenues: $153 million in 2010

CMHC contribution: $60 million in 2010

$-

$500,000,000

$1,000,000,000

$1,500,000,000

$2,000,000,000

$2,500,000,000

$3,000,000,000

$3,500,000,000

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Federal, provincial and municipal unadjusted housing spending

Can these trends continue???

From 1998 to 2008: As federal housing investments erode, most provinces

increase housing investments

2008 – unilateral housing investments per capita

CMHC / federal housing cuts (2011 – 2015) coming at a time when:

•  feds restricting mortgage market •  # of h/hs projected to increase •  private rental market stagnant •  CMHC projecting growing surpluses ($1.5

billion in 2015)

Continuing the story:

Ø Erosion of federal housing investments continues

Ø Provinces and municipalities picked up

some of slack… until now…

Federal policy priority:

Reverse erosion housing investments: •  CAEH - New national voice •  Council of Federation •  FCM

Housing needs in your community?

In my area, the top housing need is: 1.  Unaffordable housing costs

2.  Not enough housing

3.  Poor repair in existing housing

4.  Inadequate social / medical supports

Adding up numbers: 1990 to 2008

Canada: •  Median renter h/h income stagnant – up 5%

•  Avg private market rent skyrocketed - up 43% •  Median renter h/h income (2008) - $33,100

•  h/h income req’d for AMR - $32,160

Newfoundland and Labrador: •  Median renter h/h income down – minus 19% •  Avg private market rent skyrocketed – up 23%

•  Median renter h/h income (2008) - $25,200 •  h/h income req’d for AMR - $25,360

Shrinking rental housing supply - NL

Primary rental

Vacant units

Secondary rental

2011 (1) 5,023 107 xx 2010 (2) 5,088 51 13,023 2010 (1) 5,170 58 xx 2009 (2) 5,213 51 12,896

Rental vacancy rates painfully low

Forecasting h/h growth to 2036

Canada: •  2006 – 12.8m households (owner and renter)

•  2036 – 17.9m households

New housing starts:

New affordable homes under Canada’s National Housing Act

‘The very nature of homelessness makes accurate counts and surveys … difficult. At the provincial level, precision of homeless counts is not as important as having a strong understanding about the magnitude of the problem and the trends. For such a complex issue, good overall information is critical if the government is to make effective decisions and match its programs to the problems… if the biggest cause of homelessness… is the gap between the cost of housing and what people can afford to pay, then the appropriate solution would be quite different than if the main cause is poor mental health and/or addictions.’

- BC Auditor General, Homelessness: Clear Focus Needed, 2009

(1) improvement of housing conditions, and (2) absorb unemployment by stimulation of

construction and building industries

Dominion Housing Act - 1935!

Dominion Housing Act is a ‘comedy of errors’ and ‘an act

to facilitate the financing of homes for the middle class

who were not in the market.’

Percy Nobbs, Dean of Architecture, McGill University,

January, 1936

Time for an adult conversation

about housing indicators and

measures

WI discussion brief by Steve Pomeroy,

October 2012

Building evidence base for local, provincial, national housing plans

Better evidence allows:

Communities to better target real needs, and assess results

Governments to shift incentives to

reward better outcomes – performance-based measures

NPs to attract new partners and

new financing…

Population size byethnicity, immigrantstatus, and gender

Disabled %

Undereducated (notcollege grad) %

Chronically ill %

Poor access tohealth care %

Unhealthy behavior& obese %

Low income %

Health careinterventions

Behavioralinterventions

Educationinterventions

Jobs/incomeinterventions

General lowincome trend General adverse

housing trends

Population-wideaverages & disparity

ratios

Housinginterventions

Adverse housing %(by low/higher income)

Social capitalinterventions

Social capital

General health careaccess trend

Death rate

Initial differences in socialdeterminants and health by ethnicity,

immigrant status, and gender

Wellesley Urban Health Model

Continuing the story:

Ø Available numbers suggest big housing troubles ahead

Ø Need better evidence to better target funding and

programs

NL policy priority:

Robust housing plan built from community up… with targets, timelines, funding, accountability for results

Supports for collaboration / innovation?

In my area, we have people and organizations that are able to effectively work together on good and promising practices: 1.  No

2.  Yes

3.  Not sure

Sometimes best route isn’t obvious: Actual

sign on Banff hiking trail

That

away

Th

isaw

ay

“Wicked” policy problems cannot be “solved” with a program here or an investment there. They require interventions by multiple actors over the long term. We can’t just throw up our hands and say it all is too complex. We need models of policy thinking, strategic investment, and service interventions that address complex problems… Bob Gardner, The Wellesley Institute

“Comprehensive community initiatives have been developed to address exactly

these kinds of issues. CCIs bring together a wide range of service providers, people

with lived experience, community leaders, and other stakeholders to build broad

collaborations to address the roots of local problems in their specific communities.”

Bob Gardner, The Wellesley Institute

Putting together the pieces: Wellesley Institute’s collaboration initiative: •  promise + perils of working together

Integrated human services management: •  linking housing + other human services

Supporting a robust, dynamic NP sector: •  social innovation funding

“Moving from accidental and incidental [collaboration] to intentional and

structured requires resources (from non-profit organizations and funders),

knowledge exchange to share good practices, and a coherent structure that

encourages collaboration and allows for proper monitoring and evaluation.”

- WI collaboration initiative

Spanning spectrum from charity to social purpose business to

commercial enterprise

Social finance / social impact bonds: Putting private money to public good

Sometimes our engagement takes

us in surprising directions, and with

‘unusual’ allies

“Our survey of Toronto housing conditions reveals thousands of families living in houses which are insanitary, verminous, and grossly overcrowded... Bad houses are not only a menace: they are active agents of destruction... they destroy happiness, health and life...”

Dr. H.A. Bruce, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, 1934

Thank you!

www.wellesleyinstitute.com