About
Homelessness, especially among individuals with mental health issues, is a growing crisis. People who are homeless often face difficulties accessing continuous healthcare, which can lead to mental health relapse, repeat hospital visits, and longer hospitalizations. This makes healthcare costs for homeless individuals significantly higher than for people with stable housing. Homeless individuals facing psychiatric discharge are less likely to receive the follow-up care they need, increasing their risk of returning to homelessness and perpetuating the cycle.
The proposed project aims to address this issue by combining a Critical Time Intervention (CTI) approach with rent subsidies. Individuals experiencing severe mental illness go through “critical time” periods, such as hospitalization, when they are at heightened risk of losing housing and other resources. This project will use focused, time-limited case management through CTIs to secure housing, alongside rent subsidies for first and last months’ rent.
Impact
Our long-term goal is to provide scalable, evidence-based solutions that can be replicated by other institutions to address mental illness, improve housing stability, and reduce homelessness rates. Our project is uniquely focused on proactively addressing homelessness among individuals with severe mental illness and aims to reduce hospital readmissions at minimal costs to the healthcare system. We aim to integrate within Unity Health Toronto’s existing homelessness response strategies and collaborate with existing programs addressing homelessness.
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