When “staying home” is continuously touted as the frontline defense against COVID-19, it begs the question: “where do I go if I don't have access to housing?” As the pandemic highlights Canada’s housing crisis, proponents of the Housing First model offer a solution: give permanent housing to the estimated 35,000 people in Canada experiencing homelessness on a given night. 

What is ‘Housing First’?

The premise of the Housing First policy approach is simple: instead of relying on shelters, people experiencing homelessness should be quickly moved into permanent housing without meeting any preconditions, such as sobriety. Once they have a permanent home, they can then receive additional support or services for issues such as substance abuse or mental illness. According to the Canadian Homelessness Research Network, the underlying logic of Housing First is that housing is a human right that should not be contingent upon readiness, given that adequate housing is “a precondition for recovery”. Other principles of Housing First include an emphasis on recovery, community integration, individualized support, and client self-determination in choosing the type of housing they receive. First popularized in the 1980s by advocates such as Canadian psychologist Sam Tsemberis, Housing First is presented as a long-term solution against homelessness, instead of a bandaid one. 

Looking to Finland

Since recognizing housing as a human right in 2019, Canada continues to struggle to implement legislation and policies that would solve its nation-wide housing crises. Finland, the first country to approve a national Housing First strategy to combat homelessness, has demonstrated how a commitment to structural change and affordable housing can benefit the homeless whilst allowing the government to save money. Finland converted the vast majority of its shelters and hostels into supported housing where residents have access to on-site staff that can provide them with aid. The move towards Housing First has produced impressive results: Finnish homelessness decreased by 35% between 2008-2015, and the country aims to eradicate homelessness by 2027. A cost-benefit analysis also showed that treating housing as a human right is economically viable; housing a person experiencing homelessness in Finland, even with various support programs, saved 15,000 euros per person a year in state services. These savings can be attributed to the subsequent lower use of services such as emergency healthcare or the justice system. 

Proven to Succeed in Montreal: the At Home/Chez Soi Project

Housing First isn’t just proven to succeed in Nordic countries. In Canada, the At Home/Chez Soi project (incidentally affiliated with McGill University) aimed to provide access to housing to homeless individuals experiencing mental illness using the Housing First model in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Moncton, and Montreal. 

In Montreal, 73 landlords agreed to participate by allowing 469 participants experiencing homelessness to become tenants in their properties. The study used a control group who continued to receive ‘treatment as usual’ (TAU) using existing homelessness-support infrastructure. Participants in the Housing First group were aided in finding an apartment that suited their location choices and paid a rent subsidized by the project’s funding that amounted to 25-30% of their income (limited to welfare or disability payments for most participants).

The results of the study speak to the potential of the Housing First model in Canada. Enough landlords were willing to sustain the project, and Housing First participants obtained and retained housing at a greater rate than the TAU group. Additionally, like in Finland, it reduced the cost of other services. 

Researchers concluded that “the study has shown that it is feasible in Montreal to house many homeless people with mental illness in subsidized apartments of their choice and greatly increase the quality of their lives, at minimal cost to society”. Participants of the program reported that At Home/Chez Soi allowed them to pay off debts, become sober, and reconnect with their families after time on the street. After the proven cost-effectiveness of Housing First through this project, the federal government announced that they would invest $600 million over five years (2014-2019) to support the reduction of homelessness while facilitating the implementation of the Housing First model in Canada. 

Could Housing First have been a Preventative Measure against the COVID-19 Spread in Montreal? 

Despite federal endorsement of the Housing First model, Quebec was wary to commit to this approach, a choice that now seems to have serious repercussions given the current pandemic. A 2013 Global News article reported that Quebec appeared to be abandoning the federal ‘Housing First’ project, citing a lack of consultation from the federal government concerning the project’s design. Though Quebec continued to fund participants from the original At Home/Chez Soi project, they did not continue to provide provincial funding for the project to expand. Instead, according to At Home/Chez Soi workers, the provincial government was “providing a transition to usual services that didn’t work that well in the first place”. 

 The current state of homelessness in Montreal shows an arguable disregard for the right to housing.The loss of Housing First principles in the past few years has caused the situation to worsen, and this has been compounded by pandemic restrictions. Uncertainty about the program’s longevity pushed several Housing First participants to anxiously desert their apartments. In 2018, there were an estimated 3,000 homeless in Montreal, over a hundred of which opted to live in tent cities instead of shelters this summer as a way to avoid the virus. Local psychosocial workers note that the shortage of shelter beds has been exacerbated due to the introduction of pandemic restrictions. As public health measures have caused some shelters to cease overnight service, Quebec's January curfew has proven deadly for people experiencing homelessness (though the curfew is no longer applicable to them). This is compounded by the fact that shelters had become hotspots for the virus, which is especially worrying considering that people experiencing homelessness are two to three times more likely to die from COVID-19 due to the increased likelihood of compromised immune systems, shelter overcrowding, and poor nutrition. 

COVID-19 has been devastating for people experiencing homelessness, but this devastation could have been mitigated with a continued Housing First approach. Providing people experiencing homelessness access to permanent housing would have empowered them with the best defenses against COVID-19: the ability to stay home, social distance, self-isolate, and easily practice hand hygiene.

COVID-19 Instigates Change

As pandemic curfews and ‘stay-at-home’ orders highlighted the global housing crisis, some predicted that the virus would finally be the catalyst for governments’ action against homelessness. Sam Watts, CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, argued that “we need to use the pandemic as a chance to put an emphasis on permanent solutions, because we know very well what people want: a permanent home, not a shelter or a refuge”. 

The Government of Quebec appears ready to take action; on January 21st, 2021, an agreement under the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) between the federal government and Quebec was announced. Under this agreement, $56.8 million in federal funding will be provided to the City of Montreal to rapidly complete 12 housing projects within the city, which will produce 263 units by 2022. Projects receiving this funding will “target clients with special housing needs”, including people experiencing homelessness, Indigenous populations, and survivors of domestic abuse. Moreover, Quebec will commit to funding rent supplements for some of these units over a 20-year period. With this funding, eligible renters will pay a subsidized rent of 25% of their income, reminiscent of the At Home/ Chez Soi project. 

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante stated that “the pandemic has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness [...]. More than ever, it is crucial that every citizen have a roof over their head”. Although not an explicit commitment to embracing Housing First, the RHI agreement could be monumental for combatting Montreal’s housing crisis. Now, the Quebec government must ensure that access to these units will be without preconditions, in order to truly embrace the positive consequences of the Housing First model.