The City of Abbotsford became a designated Community Entity under the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home program in 2020. Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. As a designated Community Entity under the Reaching Home program, the City of Abbotsford has entered into an agreement with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities of Canada (HICC) to receive funding between 2020-2026.
As a Community Entity, the City of Abbotsford is responsible for the overall management of the Reaching Home Program, which includes all contractual obligations to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities of Canada (HICC), such as the management of finances and subproject contracts; reporting to HICC on CE and subproject deliverables; developing, creating and managing the Community Advisory Board (CAB); and working with the CAB to deliver the following programs and services:
- Work with the Community Advisory Board to:
- Develop and update the Community Plan, which identifies proposed priority directives and coordination opportunities as per contract with Canada.
- Develop and manage ongoing Call for Proposals and review process to allocate funding into the community.
- Establish a Coordinated Access and Assessment System for the Community.
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In June 2020, the City of Abbotsford entered into an agreement with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities of Canada (HICC) to act as the Community Entity (CE) responsible for administering the Designated Communities Funding Stream of the Reaching Home Program, the Government of Canada’s homelessness strategy. Reaching Home requires that all CEs facilitate a Community Advisory Board (CAB) that is inclusive and representative of the community and supports community planning and priority identification. The geographic scope of the CAB is the City of Abbotsford, as defined by Statistics Canada.
As an Advisory Board established by Council it also serves as an advisory body to Council on the implementation of the program, including recommending projects to be funded under the Program, of which Council has the final authority.
Responsibilities
In accordance with the Directives of the Reaching Home Program, the CAB is responsible for the following key areas:
- Helping to guide the development of the community plan and provide official approval.
- Assess and recommend projects for funding to the Community Entity. The CAB is expected to undergo this process with a comprehensive understanding of the local homelessness priorities in their community. Members must recuse themselves in situations where they have ties to proposed projects.
- Being representative of the community. The CAB is responsible for recruiting members and is expected to ensure that its composition has broad and inclusive representation.
- Supporting the Community Entity (CE) in the planning and implementation of coordinated access.
- Approving the Community Homelessness Report.
See CAB Terms of Reference for additional information.
Community Homelessness Reports
What is the Community Homelessness Report (CHR)?
The CHR is an annual Reaching Home reporting deliverable that supports communities to prevent and reduce homelessness using a more coordinated, systems-based and data-driven response. The CHR is designed to support local discussions and decision making, with a focus on the full picture of homelessness at the community level and the collective efforts of service providers working across the homeless-serving system to address it.
- 2024-25 Community Homelessness Report
- 2023-24 Community Homelessness Report
- 2022-23 Community Homelessness Report
- 2021-22 Community Homelessness Report
- 2020-21 Community Homelessness Report
See the Reaching Home Directives for additional information.
CAB Meetings
- September 12, 2024, CAB Meeting minutes
- May 14, 2024, CAB Meeting minutes
- February 22, 2024, CAB Meeting minutes
- October 25, 2023, CAB Meeting minutes
- May 30, 2023, CAB Meeting minutes
- February 28, 2023, CAB Meeting minutes
- December 14, 2022, CAB Meeting minutes
- June 28, 2022, CAB Meeting minutes
- June 1, 2022, CAB Meeting minutes
- March 16, 2021, Special CAB Meeting minutes
- March 3, 2022, CAB Meeting minutes
- December 15, 2021, CAB Meeting minutes
- September 22, 2021, CAB Meeting minutes
- May 6, 2021, CAB Meeting minutes
- April 1, 2021, CAB Meeting minutes
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Members of the Community Advisory Board (CAB) give voice to the interests of those experiencing homelessness and to the homeless-serving community. The CAB develops the Community Plan, which identifies funding priorities to respond to local needs related to homelessness. The plan will be created by the CE approved by the CAB and Abbotsford City Council.
For the purpose of the CAB, the Community Plan is directly informed by previous work on the Homelessness Prevention and Response System/Collaborative Roadmap, the City of Abbotsford Affordable Housing Strategy and Housing Needs Report, as well as the FVRD PIT Homelessness Count and the Community Data Book.
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The Call for Proposals for Services and Capital projects closed in 2024. The recommended projects will run from April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2026.
For any questions, please contact reachinghome@abbotsford.ca
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The following projects were awarded Reaching Home funding and will run between April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2026.
- Lookout Housing and Health Society - Capital Investment project: Center Street Repairs and Renovations; $54,400 - Project will renovate and complete repairs in an affordable housing duplex.
- Raven's Moon Resource Society; Supportive Scattered-Site Housing; $605,900 - This project will serve homeless individuals in Abbotsford with housing and wraparound client supports.
- CEDAR Outreach Society of BC; A Coordinated Response to Prevention and Diversion in Abbotsford; $900,000 - This project will serve individuals that are at risk of homelessness or who have recently become homeless in Abbotsford with prevention, shelter diversion and wraparound client supports.
- Semá:th First Nation; Semá:th Healing Support Services; $200,000 - This project will serve Indigenous individuals work are at risk of homelessness by providing prevention, shelter diversion and wraparound client support services.
- Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) BC; Fraser Valley Rent Bank Prevention and Diversion Grants; $300,000 - This project will serve individuals and families in Abbotsford, including women and children fleeing abuse, seniors, racialized and refugee populations, who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Prevention and diversion services will be provided in the form of grants for clients facing homelessness.
- MCC BC; Extreme Weather Coordination; $208,600 - This project will coordinate the summer and winter extreme weather response programs in the Abbotsford region for homeless individuals. Extreme weather response supplies will be purchased, and a centralized hub will distribute the supplies.
- MCC BC; 2024 Point-in-Time Homeless Count Coordination and Facilitation; $29,334 - Project will work with the community to coordinate and facilitate the applicable activities, incentives, planning, events, and oversee both the enumeration and survey portion of the 2024 Homeless Count in Abbotsford.
- Ground Zero Ministries; Project off the Streets; $79,000 - Project will assist homeless individuals seeking detox programs or treatment for addictions.
- Cyrus Centre Ministries; Youth Mobility Initiative; $42,500 - Project will purchase a replacement vehicle to support vulnerable youth.
- MCC BC; EWR (Emergency Weather Response) Van Purchase; $50,000 - Project will purchase a van dedicated to coordinating extreme weather responses for homeless individuals.
- Homelessness Services Association of BC (HSABC); 2024 Point in Time Homeless Count report writing; $11,200 - project will assist Count Planning Committee with the 2024 homeless count, prepare data and final version of the Count Report to be submitted to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC).
- CEDAR Outreach Society of BC; Understanding the Experiences and Support Needs of Those Living in Rest Stops in Abbotsford; $45,000 - project will enhance knowledge of the support needs of individuals residing in Abbotsford rest stops. The goal is to improve community responses and support of transitions to sustainable housing. Project will result in a report and presentations on the findings.
- Pacific Community Resource Society (PCRS); Indigenous Outreach Access Point; $90,000 - Project aims to create an Indigenous Outreach Access Point to better support vulnerable Indigenous people facing homelessness in Abbotsford. The focus is to improve data quality and service coordination for Indigenous individuals and families.
- Sparrow Community Care Society; Older Adult Resource Coordination; $70,000 - Project aims to assess the needs of homeless, catalogue existing resources, map access journeys, and identify resource and access gaps.
- University of the Fraser Valley CHASI (Community Health and Social Innovation); Qualitative Assessment of Housing First Initiatives in Abbotsford; $20,010 - The project will evaluate the Housing First (HF) model in Abbotsford through two phases: a quantitative fidelity assessment and a qualitative assessment via interviews and focus groups. Funding is for phase two. The final report will provide an overview of HF implementation and outcomes.
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What is Coordinated Access?
A Coordinated Access System (CAS) helps individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness access services in a clear, transparent, and equitable way. Trained case workers serve as access points in the community to assess their need using a common triage tool. Based on this assessment, individuals and families are prioritized for housing support and matched to suitable services that meet their needs. This system uses consent-based information sharing, so participants only need to share their story once, making it easier to get consistent help across various services in Abbotsford.
Key Features of CAS:
- HIFIS (Homeless Individuals & Families Information System) Centralized Database: Collects and displays real-time data on participants and available housing and services, shared by local organizations.
- Clear Entry Points: Defined places where people can access help.
- Common Assessment: A standardized way to evaluate needs.
- Standardized Protocols: Uniform procedures to follow.
- Resource Focus: Staff and resources aimed at connecting people with appropriate housing and services in an efficient and equitable manner.
Local Implementation: The City of Abbotsford, with partners like Housing, Infrastructure and Communities of Canada (HICC), BC Housing, and numerous community agencies and Indigenous communities and service providers, are developing CAS together. Local community groups involved include:
- CAS Working Group: Meets bi-weekly; includes government and non-government organizations.
- SUMMA Table: Bi-weekly meetings of Indigenous organizations and communities.
- HIFIS Working Group: Bi-weekly meetings of organizations that provide outreach and shelter services work together to develop HIFIS processes.
- Integrated Outreach Meeting: Weekly meetings of frontline outreach and shelter workers to coordinate services.
- Situation Table: Weekly meetings to address high-risk situations with quick, multi-disciplinary interventions.
Definitions:
- Access Point: The point where individuals or families in a housing crisis engage with services (e.g., shelters, outreach teams, hotlines).
- Assessment: Gathering information to determine needs and eligibility for services.
- Prioritization: Determining the priority for housing and services based on the assessment.
- Matching and Referral: Offering housing and services based on needs, eligibility, and preferences.