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All people have a basic need for housing - shelter from the
environment to ensure survival. Housing also has an emotional
component – a place of comfort and refuge – what we call “home”.
Best practices in housing indicate that housing is a critical
determinant of a person’s health. People with a mental illness are
no different in their need for housing and homes. Normal,
permanent, affordable and integrated housing is fundamental to an
individual’s recovery process. This text is taken from “The Time
for Change is Now” by the Northeast Mental Health Implementation
Task Force Final Report.
If you are homeless or at risk of homelessness, contact
Street
Helpline Peel. Regular referrals for housing are made to
Supportive
Housing in Peel. CMHA/Peel has one front line worker with
the HASP (Housing And Support Peel) program.
PAR Clubhouse has a
limited number of housing units for its members.
As well, we
operate McEvenue Home Works, a limited accommodation supplement
for those having difficulties meeting commitments related to
maintaining their housing.
Eligibility criteria exists for all services, so click on the
above links or
click here for details.
Outreach to Homeless
"Imagine. . .for a fleeting moment, what it would be like
walking a mile in the shoes of the homeless! Imagine if you can;
having no identification, no bank account, no Health Card,
inappropriate clothing for the season, no winter boots; no one to
trust, no place to live, no experience in the game of life on the
street, no identity, no self worth or self esteem, no confidence
in your fellow man, absolutely no respect from the general public,
no way of knowing when, where, or how you are going to eat again."
This is how it feels to be homeless, according to a man who has
been there and who told his story to the Peel Regional Task Force
on Homelessness. The definition of homelessness includes "those
who are absolutely, periodically or temporarily without shelter,
as well as those who are at substantial risk of being on the
street in the immediate future" (Daly, Homeless, 1997). To this
definition the Task Force has chosen to add "people who are forced
to share accommodation under conditions offering no security of
tenure or which are adverse to physical or emotional well being".
One homeless man we spoke to in Peel reminded us that many people
are only one, two or three pay cheques away being homeless. Our
findings indicated that many of the homeless were once comfortably
situated only to find that an accident, a serious illness, a
family breakdown, mental health problems or the loss of a job
started them on a downward spiral which ended on the street.
This text is taken from The Final Report of the Peel Regional Task
Force on Homelessness as shown at
www.peelregion.ca. Canadian Mental Health Association/Peel Branch works alongside
other agencies to assist those who are homeless or at risk of
homelessness through Street Helpline Peel. A
HASP (Housing And
Support Peel) worker supports clients with a mental illness who
are awaiting housing through
Supportive
Housing in Peel. |
