[kettal]

Fewer homeless sleeping outdoors: Survey
But shelter population soars nearly 10 per cent

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Donovan Vincent
Staff Reporter
Toronto’s second survey of its homeless population shows a 50 per cent drop in the number of people sleeping outdoors, a finding one city councillor is calling “phenomenal.’’

Results from the long-awaited, one-night snapshot survey done April 15, 2009, indicate there were about 400 homeless people on the street that evening, a drop from 818, when the first study was done three years prior.

City officials are attributing that drop to Toronto’s Streets to Homes program, in which homeless people on the street are approached and offered help getting permanently housed before other changes are made in their lives.

Phil Brown, general manager responsible for the program, maintains that of the 2,800 people housed since the initiative began in 2005, 90 per cent remain so.

Councillor Janet Davis, who chairs the committee that oversees the homeless file, called the drop in outdoor homeless “phenomenal.’’

“Outreach workers (with Streets to Homes) have clearly been successful in finding housing and providing support services to keep them housed,’’ Davis said Friday afternoon.

.... more

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http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/796799--fewer-homeless-sleeping-outdoors-survey

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[MetroMan]

Like this, many of Mayor Miller's legacy projects will only bear fruit after he's left office. His "nip crime at the root" approach will only have a real effect after the kids his programs target become old enough to have become the next generation of criminals, but don't. His garbage and recycling plans will only show the biggest benefits after they've been completed. His Transit City model of blanketing the city in dependable ROWs of LRTs will only demonstrate their value when they're built.

All the more reason to elect Pantalone to continue Miller's vision.

 

[nfitz]

What's interesting is that this compares to 2005. But even in 2005 there seemed to me to be less homeless on the streets that there were, say, in 2002. It's nice to see some numbers to back up the trends I think I've been seeing.