Coordinated intake process for non-market housing

The collective Steering Committee recently submitted a letter to Calgary City Council to express support for a coordinated intake process for non-market housing. This matter will appear before Calgary's Priorities and Finance Committee (PFC) on June 6th and the meeting is open to the public so stakeholders can attend to show support in person.

In Calgary, we currently have dozens of separate waitlists and different housing providers have their own independent intake processes. A centralized entry point in the city will eliminate the need for applicants to submit information multiple times to different providers. It is expected to improve the timing of people finding housing, reduce stress for applicants, and lead to a more efficient system that effectively places people in the housing they need and closes gaps in the current system. Further, a streamlined system of intake would reduce the burden on social workers and case management staff in a myriad of non-profit agencies who currently provide housing location and system navigation support to low income individuals.

This initiative is in direct alignment with our Action Plan, as well as a number of related community strategies including Enough for All: the Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative and Calgary’s Updated Plan to End Homelessness.

CHAC is the collective engine for improving housing affordability in Calgary through cross-sector collaboration and community-based advocacy. We are a network of individuals and organizations using a collective impact model that coordinates efforts and builds a common agenda to advance the affordable housing outcomes of plans across Calgary that cannot be accomplished individually.

Many of our collective members look forward to continuing to participate and collaborate through the next phase of work, particularly the implementation of several identified “quick wins”.
 

This message has been endorsed by the following Community Housing Affordability Collective members: Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation, BILD Calgary Region, Calgary Homeless Foundation, Calgary Police Service, Enough for All, HomeSpace, Horizon Housing Society, Vibrant Communities Calgary, and YWCA Calgary.