Directive 9: Capital Investments
The purpose of this directive is to clarify the activities that are related to capital
investments that can be supported under Housing First and Non-Housing First
dedicated funding.
Description of Directive 9
Housing First Dedicated Funding
The only capital costs that can be funded and count towards the Housing First
investment target include:
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Furnishing apartments for Housing First clients.
Repairing damages in apartments resulting from Housing First clients in private
rental market (not social housing).
Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
Capital investments are intended to preserve or increase the capacity of facilities
used to address the needs of people who are homeless or at imminent risk of
homelessness. The capital costs that can be funded include:
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new construction;
purchase;
renovation of transitional or permanent supportive housing;
repurposing facilities (e.g. transitional housing into permanent housing);
renovation of emergency shelters; and
purchase of furniture, equipment, and/or vehicles.
In recognition of infrastructure needs in rural and remote communities and nondesignated communities receiving funding under the Aboriginal Homelessness
funding stream, HPS funding may be used to construct or purchase emergency
shelters in these communities only.
If a community is going to invest in a capital project, the community and project
sponsor must demonstrate they have done the following: linked with the Province or
Territory; encouraged leveraging, and ensured sustainability.
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Linking with the Province or Territory: Efforts should be made to link with
provincial, territorial or municipal funding. It is important to provide evidence of
the need to purchase, construct, or renovate facilities and that
provincial/territorial and municipal partners have been engaged to ensure that
the community is best placed to undertake the capital project. This should be
demonstrated through the HPS Sustainability Checklist for Applicants of Capital
Investment Projects Footnote6 . HPS funds can be used to complement other capital
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investments made by a province, territory or municipality. However, HPS funding
must not duplicate or displace funding from other programs (should be used to fill
a gap in these instances).
Encouraging leveraging: Where possible, communities are encouraged to ensure
that HPS is not the sole funder in capital projects. For capital projects consisting
of new construction or purchase of facilities, the community is required to record
the in-kind and financial contributions of each capital investment sub-project
funded under HPS.
Ensuring sustainability: Capital projects often represent a significant investment
of program funds and provide an asset of enduring value to the community to
support their efforts to combat homelessness. Capital projects funded
under HPS should lead to new or improved services that will be maintained after
project completion. Accordingly, applicants must provide a sustainability plan
that demonstrates how the service(s) supported by the capital investment will be
maintained once HPS funding has ended. Applicants must identify all relevant
funding sources for the operation of the facility and/or new services through their
application documents.
In their sustainability plan, organizations must:
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describe their partnerships;
confirm their funding sources for ongoing operations;
report if the project will increase the level of services or if they will remain stable;
and
include a timeline for the completion of their activities.
As part of the application process for a sub-project, capital project applicants must
follow the Sustainability Checklist in order to demonstrate that the minimum project
sustainability standards have been addressed. Applicants seeking capital funding
under the regionally delivered HPS funding streams (Designated Communities; Rural
and Remote Homelessness; and Aboriginal Homelessness) are required to complete
the checklist as part of any proposal to create or expand a facility which could result
in increased annual operational costs. The sustainability checklist can also be used
to assess sustainability in capital projects that do not incur increased annual
operational costs (e.g. equipment purchase or renovations in a facility where no
space, beds or units are added or no service is created or expanded).
Communities are responsible to review the checklist completed by applicants through
the solicitation or proposals, as part of the assessment process.
Capital Project Expenses and Monitoring (Applicable to both Housing First and
Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding)
As HPS allocations are annual, multi-year projects must be managed (expensed) on
a fiscal year basis.
Under certain conditions outlined in Annex C of the Funding Agreement with Canada,
capital projects are also subject to monitoring for up to five (5) years after the project
end-date to ensure recipients are compliant with the terms of their funding agreement
with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Service Canada monitors capital investments for emerging issues and may ask for
course correction as needed.
Eligible Activities
Housing First Dedicated Funding
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Furnish housing units for Housing First clients in private market, social or
permanent supportive housing (capital costs are limited to furniture, dishes, etc.).
Repairs of damages resulting from Housing First clients (only in private rental
market housing, and within the period a Housing First client is housed through
HPS).
Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
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Renovation of emergency shelters, transitional housing, permanent supportive
housing, or non-residential facilities, including:
o Renovating an existing facility for upgrades and to meet building
standards.
o Repurposing an existing property to create transitional housing or
permanent supportive housing.
o Expanding an existing facility.
o Renovating a property following a transfer under the Surplus Federal Real
Property for the Homelessness Initiative (SFRPHI) to create transitional
housing and/or permanent supportive housing.
New construction of transitional or permanent supportive housing, or nonresidential facilities, including:
o Building a facility.
o Tearing down an existing facility and building a new one.
o Service space where the Investments in Affordable Housing Initiative
(IAH) is building or renovating to create permanent housing.
Purchase of transitional housing, permanent or permanent supportive housing,
and non-residential facilities to create new space or units:
o Eligible costs related, professional fees, such as consultants, audit,
technical expertise, facilitation, legal, and construction contractors, and
capital costs of the purchase of a land or building.
Purchase of furniture, equipment and/or vehicles, including:
o Eligible costs related to other capital costs (e.g. vehicles, tools,
equipment, machinery, computers, and furniture).
o Purchased vehicles must be used exclusively for HPS service delivery.
o All capital assets must be managed in accordance with ESDC’s
Disposition of Capital Assets policy.
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Only under the HPS Rural and Remote Homelessness funding stream and nondesignated communities receiving funding under the Aboriginal Homelessness
funding stream:
o Capital Investments to build (e.g., pre-development, purchase of land,
construction, renovation and purchase of appliances and furniture) new
emergency shelter facilities.
Ineligible Activities
Both for Housing First and non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
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Purchase or construction of new emergency shelters (except under
the HPS Rural and Remote Homelessness funding stream and non-designated
communities receiving funding under the Aboriginal Homelessness funding
stream).
Construction and renovation of housing units whose funding is covered by the
bilateral Investments in Affordable Housing Initiative (IAH) agreement with the
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and most Provinces and Territories.
Affordable or social housing, including:
o Repairs to social housing units.
o Renovation of affordable or social housing units.
o Creation of affordable or social housing units.
Footnote 6 The HPS Sustainability Checklist and Guide for Applicants of Capital Investment
Projects and the accompanying HPS Tool to Assist in Developing a Capital Project have been
developed to assist applicants. Both are available through your Service Canada representative.
Directive 10: Basic Needs Services
The purpose of this directive is to clarify the activities related to basic needs services
that can be supported by Housing First dedicated and non-Housing First dedicated
funding.
Description of Directive 10
Housing First Dedicated Funding
The only eligible activity for funding basic needs services under Housing First is for
the initial apartment set up. Investments in ongoing basic needs services are not
considered eligible activities for the purpose of implementing Housing First, and they
cannot count towards the Housing First investment target. Under the Homelessness
Partnering Strategy (HPS), communities are encouraged to partner with relevant
sectors to ensure that Housing First clients have access to other support they may
require in the subsequent months to be able to live in their units, including, for
example, groceries and personal hygiene products.
Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
Funding for basic needs services should support outcomes that contribute to a
reduction in homelessness. For example, short-term food and emergency shelter
assistance are eligible activities as a means to assist homeless individuals to obtain
placement in more stable housing e.g. transitional, supportive or regular housing.
Longer-term food programs can also be funded if they are part of another
intervention that is considered an eligible activity (e.g., serving meals during the
delivery of other support services that enable clients to participate in social or cultural
activities to assist them with community reintegration).
Communities are encouraged to partner with relevant sectors to ensure that
homeless clients using shelters or living on the street access basic needs services,
such as food, clothing and blankets.
Eligible Activities
Housing First Dedicated Funding
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Groceries, personal hygiene and other supplies as part of initial apartment set up
for Housing First clients.
Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
Basic needs services include:
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Access to shower and laundry facilities;
Food services related to food banks, soup kitchens, collective/community
kitchens;
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Personal hygiene items;
Clothing, footwear and blankets;
Storage for belongings;
Basic first aid;
Access to technology (e.g. phones, computers, etc.) in a community setting (e.g.
in a resource or drop-in centre); and
Bus or public transit tickets related to job search/interviews,
appointments/reconnecting to family for example.
It is important that these support services are connected to broader
services/strategies to help clients move towards more stable living arrangements
(short, medium or long term) or conditions (i.e. enhanced social integration).
Ineligible Activities
Both for Housing First and Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
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Delivery of basic needs services that may serve to maintain homeless people on
the street rather than stabilize and improve their living conditions, (e.g. distribute
food or hygiene kits without any demonstrated outreach or intervention to
improve housing stability or social/economic integration for clients as part of the
project activities).
Directive 11: Prevention
The purpose of this directive is to define the population at imminent risk of
homelessness and clarify the prevention-related activities that can be supported
under Non-Housing First dedicated funding only.
Description of Directive 11
The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) has defined the populations at
imminent risk of homelessness as follows:
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Populations at imminent risk of homelessness are defined as individuals or
families whose current housing situation end in the near future (i.e. within two
months) and for whom no subsequent residence has been identified. These
individuals are unable to secure permanent housing because they do not have
sufficient resources or support networks immediately available to prevent them
from moving to an emergency shelter or a public or private place not meant for
human habitation. The population at imminent risk of homelessness is not
among the groups that are the focus of Housing First under HPS.
HPS funding targeted towards prevention activities must fit the HPS definition of
clients who are “at imminent risk of homelessness”. The examples below describe
emergency situations where individuals and families are at imminent risk of
homelessness and could be eligible for an HPS funded prevention
intervention. Footnote7
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Individuals or households facing eviction, with a poor rental history and
insufficient cash reserves or assets to acquire new housing.
Breakdown in family relations, including separation, conflicts between parents
(caregivers and children), and/or episodes of violence, where one or more
parties have insufficient cash reserves or assets to acquire new housing.
Individuals due to be released from institutional care who do not have
arrangements made for safe and permanent accommodation upon release.
Institutional care includes criminal justice system, medical/mental health
institutions, residential treatment programs or child protection. If these individuals
have no fixed address and a history of homelessness, they may fall under the
definition of chronic and episodic homelessness.
Eligible Activities
Non-Housing First Dedicated Funding
Interventions to support individuals and families at imminent risk of homelessness
consist of providing:
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Housing loss prevention supports to respond to emergency situations (e.g.
support when there is an eviction notice i.e. utility deposit, one-time rent arrears
assistance, direct tenant landlord intervention, informing tenants of their rights
and responsibilities, financial management services that help people retain their
housing and reduce debts, support to solve issues related to hoarding).
Support services (e.g. counselling supports, housing placement etc.) for
individuals whose discharge from the health, child protection or criminal justice
system is imminent.
Ineligible Activities
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Provision or payment for student housing;
Supports for low-income individuals or families who do not face an imminent risk
of homelessness;
Repeated and regular direct funds or income supports to a client in order to
maintain housing.
Footnote 7 These examples do not mean that any individual in those groups is
automatically at imminent risk of homelessness, as some could have the necessary
resources to secure permanent housing.
Directive 12: Data Collection, Sharing, and
Dissemination
The purpose of this directive is to clarify the activities related to data collection,
sharing, and dissemination that can be supported under Housing First and NonHousing First dedicated funding.
Description of Directive 12
Under the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS), data collection, sharing and
dissemination activities enhance the understanding of local homelessness issues
and help support decision-making, longer-term planning and outcome measurement
to prevent and reduce homelessness.
Communities need to place an enhanced focus on data collection and analysis at the
local level. An information management system on homelessness and shelter use
will be a critical tool to support communities in implementing successful Housing First
programs and in reporting. Data will play an important role in measuring the progress
being made by the HPS at both the community and national level.
Collection and Management of Personal Information
Communities must ensure that personal information is managed according to the
applicable laws in the jurisdictions where they operate. In particular, Community
Entities (CEs), Data Coordinators, and service providers are responsible for ensuring
the security of personal information that is collected or compiled in the context of their
business as it relates to the delivery of the HPS, and that it is protected against such
risks as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal.
HPS Data Collection
The data collected is used to create a national portrait of homelessness and
contributes to knowledge around the issue of homelessness (e.g. through the
National Shelter Study, and the Shelter Capacity Report). Data will be collected
through the following sources:
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Community Plans;
National Homelessness Information System (NHIS) including the Homeless
Individual and Families Information System (HIFIS);
Results Reporting on-line (RROL).
HPS Expectations
In moving to a Housing First approach, HPS expectations for data collection, sharing,
and dissemination are the following:
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For community planning, communities need access to any data that exists in the
community, including shelter, census, housing and project data. The community
needs to consider whether everyone involved in the local efforts to address
homelessness is collecting the data needed to tell the story of the community
and the progress around the goal of reducing homelessness.
Communities need to determine the size of their chronic and episodic homeless
population on a regular basis, such as year-end, so they can report reductions
through HPS-funded activities through Housing First or non-Housing First
interventions.
Monitoring and accountability are also important. Projects should be seen as
investments that need to be carefully monitored to make sure they are achieving
their objectives. Projects that are not achieving expected outcomes or providing
good results relative to the investments need to be monitored closely and
adjusted accordingly.
Expectations on Shelter Data Collection
Shelter data is key to providing most of the information about emergency shelter
users, including chronic and episodic shelter users, as well as other users of
particular interest, such as Veterans Footnote8 . The following are the expectations
specifically for Community Entities (CEs) under the HPS:
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CEs encourage local shelters and service providers to collect and share data to
support decisions based on evidence at the local level. CEs can also mandate
sponsors of subprojects to use the Homeless Individuals and Families
Information System (HIFIS) and share data with the CE Footnote9 .
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CEs are involved in local efforts to ensure shelter data is collected and used.
Where HIFIS Community Coordinators exist, CEs may want to connect with
them to discuss data requirements and develop a plan to access existing
resources.
To support the role of the CE regarding shelter data where HIFIS is the data
collection system, the following supports are available from HPS:
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Technical supports and training, including E-learning, the HIFIS website, and
instructional documents;
HIFIS Support Desk; and
HIFIS Community Coordinators, funded through the NHIS funding stream.
Eligible Activities (both for Housing First and NonHousing First Dedicated Funding)
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Collection of data to demonstrate accountability, support decision-making, and
inform of the homelessness situation, including point-in-time counts;
Activities intended to build partnerships for data collection and analysis;
Gathering, sharing, and disseminating information with the Community Advisory
Board (CAB), CE, and other interested parties about:
o the size and composition of the homeless and imminently at-risk
populations, including how the size and/or composition are changing over
time;
o the progress made in preventing and reducing homelessness;
o the tracking and monitoring of activities; and
o the relevant information needed to make better informed decisions.
Technical support for data collection, analysis, and management;
Purchase of equipment to collect and compile data (e.g., computer, server); and
Hire a local Data Coordinator to perform analysis and report development only
where there is not already a NHIS-funded Community Coordinator at the local or
provincial level performing these duties.).
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Ineligible Activities (both for Housing First and NonHousing First Dedicated Funding)
Regionally-Delivered Funding Streams: Designated Communities, Aboriginal
Homelessness, and Rural and Remote Homelessness funding streams
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Information gathered or refocused primarily for the purpose of advocacy, public
education or awareness;
Development of shelter data collection systems other than HIFIS;
Hiring a consultant to compile data to complete Results Reporting On-line;
Local research other than the data collection activities described under “Eligible
Activities”; and
Developing software and/or the purchase of hardware for the collection and
management of homelessness data that constitutes a redundant use of funds
and duplicates activities already offered through the HIFIS software. For
example: purchasing alternative software that performs similar functions to
the HIFIS software.
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Footnote 8 HIFIS contains a mandatory data field that enables service providers to
identify users that have Canadian military service, which supports the referral and
linkage to Veterans Affairs Canada programs and services. For further information,
see Directive 8 – Supporting Homeless Veterans.
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Footnote 9 Service providers upgrading to HIFIS version 3.8 must sign a Data
Provisioning Agreement (DPA) with Employment and Social Development Canada
(ESDC) to activate the software which automatically shares data with ESDC on
quarterly basis. HIFIS 3.8 also contains features that would allow service providers to
share data with the CE, however CEs must have the capacity and cooperation of
service providers to receive this data