FROM THURSDAY'S GLOBE AND MAIL
MARCH 19, 2009 AT 12:00 AM EDT
"Alberta's ambitious new plan to end homelessness by 2019 may or may not save the billions of dollars its
authors contend it will. But it is an innovative plan, and it is right and proper that Alberta, which was
built on innovation (the oil didn't come up out of the ground by itself), should turn its mind and its dollars
to combatting a seemingly insoluble social problem.
Of the $3.3-billion in projected new spending (at a minimum) over the next decade, $1.26-billion will go
to building 8,000 new housing units. The rest, $2.06-billion, is for support services, based on the “housing
first” philosophy espoused by the Montreal-bred psychologist Sam Tsemberis, now of New York, which
seeks to put homeless people not in shelters but in homes, supported around the clock by a doctor, a
social worker and others. The ratio of social-support dollars to bricks-and-mortar dollars seems
reasonable, in light of the mental illness, addictions, disease and illiteracy that homeless people suffer.
The biggest portion of the money is for the smallest group: the 3,000 chronically homeless, out of an
estimated 11,000 or so homeless Albertans, whose social supports will cost $1.02-billion, or $34,000 each
year per person. Those sizable figures should help Canadians turn their minds to improving mental-health
care, especially in children and young people. The savings that accrue from putting strict limits on
prevention and treatment services are illusory.
It is not clear yet when the government will begin spending the money outlined in the Housing and Urban
Affairs Ministry's plan. This is not the type of stimulus program that reliably boosts productivity, and
while the government plan argues that it will save $3-billion or so in the costs of managing homelessness
– in shelters, hospitals, courts and jails – its projected savings do seem a little too hopeful. But there is no
time like the present for a good idea.
There is no reason why any of this should be incompatible with a Conservative government. Those who
developed the plan say it stresses self-reliance; whether that is so or not, it does put a premium on
government interventions, such as rent supplements for those paying more than 30 per cent of their
income on housing, and a “homeless and eviction prevention fund” for those who don't have enough
money for first month's rent.
Dr. Tsemberis calls his support teams Assertive Community Treatment, and it seems no coincidence that
it is Alberta, an assertive place, which puts it into action province-wide."
