MOVING TOWARDS ENDING HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS Report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs
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MOVING TOWARDS ENDING HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS Report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs Neil R. Ellis, Chair MAY 2019 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Reproduction in accordance with this permission does not constitute publication under the authority of the House of Commons. The absolute privilege that applies to the proceedings of the House of Commons does not extend to these permitted reproductions. Where a reproduction includes briefs to a Standing Committee of the House of Commons, authorization for reproduction may be required from the authors in accordance with the Copyright Act. Nothing in this permission abrogates or derogates from the privileges, powers, immunities and rights of the House of Commons and its Committees. For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca MOVING TOWARDS ENDING HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS Report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs Neil R. Ellis Chair MAY 2019 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS CHAIR Neil R. Ellis VICE-CHAIRS Phil McColeman Rachel Blaney MEMBERS Bob Bratina Shaun Chen Doug Eyolfson Robert Kitchen Stéphane Lauzon (Parliamentary Secretary – Non-Voting Member) Karen Ludwig Darrell Samson Cathay Wagantall OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED René Arseneault Pierre Breton Hon. Kent Hehr Gord Johns Ben Lobb Dave MacKenzie Irene Mathyssen Marc Miller Hon. Erin O'Toole Hon. Pierre Poilievre Don Rusnak Jamie Schmale Brenda Shanahan Bev Shipley Robert Sopuck iii CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Michael MacPherson LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Jean-Rodrigue Paré, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS has the honour to present its TWELFTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied homeless veterans and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................. 1 MOVING TOWARDS ENDING HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS .................................. 3 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Scope of the Problem ........................................................................................................................ 5 Portrait of Homeless Canadian Veterans .......................................................................... 7 Research Needs ............................................................................................................................ 9 A Problem That Can Be Solved ........................................................................................... 10 Veterans Affairs Canada’s Programs for Veterans Who Are Homeless ................... 12 Veterans Emergency Fund ................................................................................................... 13 Raising Awareness in the Community Sector .............................................................. 15 Case Management for the Homeless ................................................................................ 18 Veterans and the National Housing Strategy....................................................................... 19 Cockrell House ........................................................................................................................... 24 Multifaith Housing Initiative ............................................................................................... 25 Community Partnerships ............................................................................................................. 25 VETS Canada............................................................................................................................... 26 Royal Canadian Legion ........................................................................................................... 27 Wounded Warriors Canada ................................................................................................. 28 Other Organizations ....................................................................................................................... 28 Soldiers Helping Soldiers ...................................................................................................... 28 Royal Canadian Naval Benevolent Fund ........................................................................ 29 RESPECT Campaign ................................................................................................................. 29 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 29 APPENDIX A: LIST OF WITNESSES ................................................................................................. 31 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE .................................................................................. 33 vii LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below. Recommendation 1 That Veterans Affairs Canada work in partnership with community agencies dedicated to helping veterans and establish ways for continual contact between the department and veterans, with the latters’ permission. .......................... 9 Recommendation 2 That Veterans Affairs Canada note the various signs of veterans who may be at risk of homelessness and proactively engage with them to prevent homelessness. .............................................................................................................. 9 Recommendation 3 That Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with Employment and Social Development Canada and organizations supporting academic research, continue its efforts to better understand veterans’ homelessness, taking into account the overrepresentation of women and Indigenous peoples. ......................... 10 Recommendation 4 That Veterans Affairs Canada continue, in partnership with other federal, provincial/territorial and municipal organizations concerned, and with the community agencies dedicated to helping veterans in need, to implement action plans such as the National Housing Strategy to eradicate homelessness among veterans. ........................................................................................................ 11 Recommendation 5 That Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence ensure that veterans receive confirmation of their service within a reasonable length of time. ...................................................................................................................... 12 1 Recommendation 6 That Veterans Affairs Canada ensure that the section of its website concerning homelessness among veterans is updated regularly and offers the most recent information available. ................................................................................................ 13 Recommendation 7 That Veterans Affairs Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) sign a memorandum of understanding to make RCMP veterans eligible for the Veterans Emergency Fund under the same terms and conditions as Canadian Armed Forces veterans............................................................................................... 15 Recommendation 8 That Veterans Affairs Canada, in partnership with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, ensure that housing projects for veterans who are homeless receive specific targeted funding under the National Housing Strategy.