Everyone deserves and has the right to housing.
Housing is an essential part of health care. In order to improve a person’s wellness, people need a safe place to live as well as access to supports. To address this increasing need, Support House has realigned to focus more fully on people who are unhoused, have mental health and substance use concerns and are in need of crisis support and wrap-around services. Support House will receive referrals through the Region of Halton’s ‘By Name List’ (BNL). This will allow us to build and create more intentional service pathways for our Halton population needs.
Our values-based approach remains the same - establishing connection, putting people first, encouraging wellness, and seeking engagement - and we continue to be guided by best practices in harm reduction, housing-first, trauma-informed, psychological, and physical health and safety principles.
- Our new referral criteria includes anyone experiencing mental health and substance use (age 16+, VI-SPDAT 4+, Locus level 3+) and require housing stability.
- Our new multi-disciplinary, team-based approach to community outreach will also include one-to-one peer support and in-person peer groups.
- Our Centre for Innovation in Peer Support will continue to provide open access to virtual support as a low-barrier option.
Introducing our new Housing First Response Team:
Support House was successful in our bid for tendered services with the Region of Halton for ‘Mental Health Supports in Emergency Shelters’ RFP #G-010-22. As a result, we have been forming a “Housing First Response Team,” which will launch in June. The initial investment is for a two-year program with the potential for ongoing funding.
Our Housing First Response Team will connect with people who are unhoused, have mental health and substance use concerns and are in need of crisis support and wrap-around services. We will work alongside the Region and other community partners to house clients through Coordinated Access — including the Regional BNL.
The Housing First Response Team will work with our existing Service Pathways and Outreach Teams and support people seven days a week anywhere in Halton, including shelters. The new staff team will be comprised of 8.0 FTEs and will include a manager and outreach workers, including peers and other specialties such as an ADAPT addiction specialist staff member.
Studies show that housing is foundational to health and wellness — and investing in supportive housing saves across the healthcare, social services, and justice sectors. By opening doors, we can open minds and possibilities for people experiencing complex mental health and substance use concerns.
For any further questions, please contact us
