SUDBURY – Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home, but as we've seen in our community, far too many people face the daily reality of homelessness. The cold, winter months bring new challenges for those who are unsheltered.

In response to the escalating issue of homelessness in Sudbury, Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Sudbury, joined by Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt, announced a one-time top-up of $436,070 through the Reaching Home program.

The funds will be directed to the City of Greater Sudbury to continue to provide immediate relief and to help keep people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness safe. This funding responds to the increased demand for services and supports throughout the colder months in Northern Ontario.

From 2019 to 2024, the City of Greater Sudbury received a total of $5,449,088 through the Reaching Home program to assist with these supports. This funding was used to support emergency shelters, a Housing First program, data collection and coordination in Sudbury, and the continuation of two emergency shelter programs.

Quotes

“The rise of homelessness is a challenge that requires a united response from all partners. Our government is committed to working together to reduce homelessness, and we are taking much needed steps towards tangible change. With the cold weather intensifying, the urgency to address this issue has become paramount. The Reaching Home program will help support initiatives to ensure we have shelter for vulnerable people in our community.” – Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament Sudbury

“Combatting homelessness remains a top priority for the Federal government. This funding top-up will help support those most vulnerable - especially in the winter months. Thank you to the City of Greater Sudbury for working proactively and collaboratively to ensure residents can access services, find housing, and live in dignity,”- Marc G. Serré, MP Nickel Belt, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages

“We are thankful for this federal funding which will enable the expansion of City of Greater Sudbury programs that provide emergency shelter, cold weather supplies, and other services to those experiencing unsheltered homelessness.  We continue to work with our community partners to identify additional services that we can put in place this winter.  Ensuring that all citizens have access to housing and emergency shelter during the coldest months of the year is a priority for Council.” – Paul Lefebvre, Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury

Quick facts

• Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.
• Reaching Home supports the goals of the National Housing Strategy, in particular, to support the most vulnerable Canadians in maintaining safe, stable and affordable housing and to reduce chronic homelessness nationally by 50% by fiscal year 2027 to 2028
• Homelessness has an impact on every community in Canada. It affects individuals, families, women fleeing violence, youth, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities. In 2016, an estimated 129,000 people experienced homelessness at an emergency shelter. This is why when Reaching Home was launched in 2019, we committed $2.2 billion to tackle homelessness across the country. Since then, we have nearly doubled our commitment to nearly $4 billion over 9 years. This includes over $1.1 billion in new investments through Budgets 2021 and 2022, to further support communities in addressing homelessness for individuals and families across Canada.