Lee Richardson, member of parliament for Calgary centre participates in the kick off of an important pilot project which will help people living with mental health concerns in Calgary gain employment and avoid homelessness

February 22, 2010

CALGARY, ALBERTA - People with disabilities will get help preparing for jobs as a result of the Government of Canada’s support to Potential Place Society.

With a federal investment of $240,000 from the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and the Opportunities Fund, Potential Place Society will help 20 people with mental health disabilities that are homeless or at risk of homelessness make a successful transition into the job market, by providing essential job and life skills training, job matching, work experience and long-term support.

“We would like to thank the Government of Canada for its support of this innovative and collaborative project,” said Mr. Gordon Young, Executive Director of Potential Place Society. “Moving Forward has the potential to become a model for helping those with mental illnesses to regain self-respect and renew their sense of hope through attaining meaningful work opportunities.”

The Opportunities Fund supports activities that increase employability skills, provide work experience and prepare people with disabilities for self-employment. The Government of Canada is breaking down barriers that prevent Canadians from reaching their full potential with a wide range of effective policies, programs and services tailored to people with disabilities.

The Fund is part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to create the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development.

In September 2008, the Government of Canada announced $1.9 billion over five years for housing and homelessness programs for low-income Canadians. This commitment provides the Government with the flexibility to work with the provinces and territories, municipalities and organizations to develop ways to improve the effectiveness of federal spending on housing and homelessness.

This ongoing funding will ensure that the Government can continue to assist those who need support, including homeless people and those at risk of homelessness—low-income Canadians, seniors, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan is building on these investments by making an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing, and by making available up to $2 billion in loans to Canadian municipalities over two years for housing-related infrastructure improvements. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit: www.actionplan.gc.ca.


For more information on the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, please visit: www.hrsdc.gc.ca/homelessness.


The following are remarks made by MP Lee Richardson at the Moving Forward Homeless Mental Health Project Kick-Off


“Thank you. I am delighted to be here on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

Let me start by commending those of you here from the Potential Place Society, Calgary Dream Centre and the Community Kitchen Program.

You are doing a tremendous public service by creating opportunities for people who face challenges in their lives and individuals who are seeking jobs and homes in your community.  You are giving them the chance to share in and contribute to everything this country has to offer.

I am proud to serve on the Calgary Homeless Foundation Board and to be part of a government that is working with these organizations to make a difference.

That is why, today, on behalf of the Government of Canada, I am pleased to join you in kicking off this pilot project - Moving Forward: Essential Skills Training & Employment Development. The Government of Canada has contributed nearly $240,000 to this innovative project. 

Helping Canadians overcome barriers and providing the support they need to reach their full potential is important to the Government of Canada. 

Through this partnership with the Province of Alberta and three non-profit organizations, 20 vulnerable Canadians will have the opportunity to develop job skills that will enable them to break free from the cycle of homelessness.

We know that the causes of poverty and homelessness are complex.  For this reason, financial support for this project is being provided through both the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and the Opportunities Fund for Person with Disabilities.

One of the goals of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy is to explore innovative ways to prevent and reduce homelessness, and to address factors linked to homelessness such as employment and mental health.

Under the Opportunities Fund, the federal government works in partnership with organizations and the private sector to support an array of employment-related activities. 

The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development.

We are also investing more than $1.9 billion in housing and homelessness over the next five years.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan is building on these investments with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing, and by making available loans of up to $2 billion over two years for housing‑related infrastructure improvements.

This funding will help give a hand up to assist homeless people and those at risk of homelessness—including low-income Canadians, seniors, people with disabilities, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people in need of support.

When Canadians have the chance to upgrade their skills, they are more likely to succeed. This will always be true, in good times and bad.

I thank the Potential Place Society for hosting us, and for your dedication in addressing the needs of your fellow citizens.  Together we are making a difference.

Thank you.”


Backgrounder: 
Potential Place Society, formerly known as the Clubhouse Society of Calgary, is a not-for-profit mental health agency that provides opportunities for those with chronic mental illness to lead productive and rewarding lives. Potential Place incorporates the principles and operating practices of a successful international program of mental health rehabilitation referred to as Clubhouse.

Potential Place Clubhouse provides a non-judgmental and supportive environment in which members can develop or regain the social and vocational skills, confidence and self-esteem necessary to become useful and productive members of society. The concepts of participation, personal development and individual empowerment are paramount in Clubhouse rehabilitation.

In 2003, Potential Place Society received accreditation through the International Centre for Clubhouse Development (ICCD), the first and only mental health consultant to the United Nations. Potential Place joined clubhouses in over 355 locations in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Indian Sub-continent. Presently there are over 57,000 active members worldwide.

Certification from the ICCD has enabled Potential Place Society to enhance and expand existing programs offered to anyone experiencing mental illness and at risk of homelessness. It has also positioned Potential Place to offer training services to develop clubhouses elsewhere in Alberta.

Potential Place Society has benefited Calgary in a way that no other mental health rehabilitation program has been able to duplicate. It has shown the mentally ill in this community that they can indeed be productive and return to homes with meaningful and purposeful lives.

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) is a unique community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to 61 communities across Canada. The HPS took effect April 1, 2007, with annual funding of $134.8 million for two years, and was extended in 2008 for a further two years until March 31, 2011. 

The HPS provides structures and supports that help people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless achieve self-sufficiency and full participation in society. This model seeks to address homelessness by working in partnership with the provinces and territories, other federal departments, as well as with communities and the private and not-for-profit sectors. By working with all our partners, we will maximize results to make a lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable Canadians. The Homelessness Partnering Strategy provides the support that our community partners are seeking.

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy uses a housing-first approach, recognizing that the first step is to provide individuals with transitional and supportive housing.

The HPS has seven funding streams:

Regionally Delivered:

• Designated Communities
• Outreach Communities
• Aboriginal Communities

Nationally Delivered:

• Federal Horizontal Pilot Projects
• Homelessness Knowledge Development
• Homeless Individuals and Families Information System 
• Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative

For more information on the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and the seven funding streams, please visit the following Web site:
www.hrsdc.gc.ca/homelessness.

The Enhanced Employment Assistance Services component of the Opportunities Fund is designed to help Canadians with disabilities who have little or no work experience, and who are not eligible for Employment Insurance benefits. The Fund is available to eligible organizations to deliver employment-related programs and services to people with disabilities to support their integration into the workplace.


Questions & Answers (Q’s & A’s)

The Potential Place Society project kick-off in Calgary, Alberta


Q1:    What is the objective of this pilot project?
A1:    Between January 1, 2010, and March 31, 2011, the Potential Place Society, through the Moving Forward: Homeless Mental Health pilot project, will provide skills-enhancement opportunities to 20 individuals with mental health disabilities who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to help them integrate into the workplace.

Q2:    What does the Government of Canada hope to achieve with this pilot project?
A2:    This is an innovative and collaborative approach that will serve as a model for preventing homelessness and providing pathways out of homelessness through employment development activities for persons with mental health disabilities.

Q3:    What will the pilot project consist of?
A3:    This pilot project will be offered in two phases consisting of assessments and skills development activities. In the first phase, participants will be assessed and supported through the development of individual return-to-work action plans.  The second phase will provide participants with the opportunity to attend skills-building workshops to help enhance their abilities and strengths as well as take part in a community kitchen to gain work experience.  These activities will be tailored to their unique needs, to enable them to make the transition to the labour market.

Q4:    How does the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) work?
A4:
The HPS provides structures and supports that help people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless achieve self-sufficiency and full participation in society. 
This model seeks to address homelessness by working in partnership with provinces and territories, other federal departments, as well as with communities and the private and non‑profit sectors.  By working with all partners, we will maximize results to make a lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable Canadians.  The HPS provides the support that our partners in communities are seeking.

Q5:    Has Budget 2009 committed more funding for homelessness and housing issues?
A5:

• In September 2008, our government committed $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve existing and build new affordable housing for low-income Canadians and to help homeless individuals.
• Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on these investments with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and by making available loans of up to $2 billion over two years for housing related‑infrastructure improvements. This will include:

• $1 billion for social housing renovation;
• $600 million for new housing and repairs to existing housing on-reserve and in the North;
• $400 million for seniors housing; and
• $75 million over two years for the construction of social housing units for persons with disabilities.

• These investments for low-income Canadians will allow governments to work together to improve the quality and energy efficiency of social housing units for Canadians that need it most.
• The $1 billion investment in social housing renovation will help vulnerable Canadians with needed improvements to their homes while creating spin-off jobs in construction and other industries. Provinces and territories are being asked to match this funding with investments of their own.
• Housing in First Nations and in the three territories must be improved. That is why we are investing $600 million in support of on-reserve and Northern housing. This will include both construction of new housing and renovations.
• We want to ensure that Canadians on fixed incomes can live with independence and dignity and remain in their communities, close to family and friends. We will be investing $475 million in new housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
• The Government of Canada is not acting alone on these housing investments. We will work with provinces and territories, First Nations, rural and urban communities and community-based housing organizations to deliver this funding. 

• Up to $2 billion will be made available over two years in direct, low-cost loans to municipalities to finance improvements to housing related infrastructure, such as sewers, water lines, and neighbourhood regeneration projects.

Q6:    How does the Opportunities Fund Enhanced Employment Assistance Services program work?
A6:    This project is funded by the Opportunities Fund (OF) Enhanced Employment Assistance Services program, which supports projects that help Canadians with disabilities develop a broad range of skills and the work experience they need to participate in the job market and is available to eligible organizations to deliver employment-related programs and services to people with disabilities to help them integrate into the workplace.  Under the OF program, individuals must self-identify as having a permanent physical or mental disability that restricts his or her ability to perform daily activities. In addition, they must be currently unemployed and ineligible for assistance under EI employment benefits, legally entitled to work in Canada, and require assistance to prepare for, obtain and keep employment or self employment.