The federal government is preparing to spend almost $500,000 in a bid to end veteran homelessness in Simcoe County. The announcement happened Thursday at Canadian Forces Base Borden. The County of Simcoe and the Canadian government are joining forces with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) to launch Veterans First, a housing program that specifically targets homeless people who have served the country in the armed forces or Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Together, both levels of government will invest $465,000 over the next year to help homeless vets move into permanent housing. The money will go toward securing a team of case managers, a landlord liaison and better tracking of homeless veterans living across Simcoe County. Organizers say the aim is to make sure anyone who has served Canada can lay down inside every night. “This approach has actually been used extensively around the United States, who have cut veteran homelessness there by more than half in the last ten years,” said Tim Richter, president of CAEH. “It’s been successfully used in cities across Canada, a year from now, homelessness for veterans in Simcoe County will be very rare, brief if it happens, and non-recurring,” he said. Under the program, vets will get care that takes military trauma into account, along with help navigating the benefit bureaucracy, personalized plans to develop life skills, resources to improve mental health and opportunities to connect to other veterans.
