Medicine Hat becomes first Canadian community to eradicate chronic homelessness
Putting an end to homelessness is a feat that many communities consider to be very difficult.
However, the City of Medicine Hat, along with the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society (MHCHC), now say they've done just that.
"Becoming the first Canadian city to reach this achievement is a testament to the dedication and the intentional community based system approach to ending homelessness," said Jaime Rogers, the MHCHC’s manager of homeless and housing development in an online webinar on Wednesday morning.
"More so, it is a recognition to the system of care that is able to bring all people home."
They've achieved what is called functional zero chronic homelessness which means they have been able to prove that there were no more than three individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in the community for three months.
Chronic homelessness is defined as someone who has experienced 180 days of homelessness over the past year or have experienced recurrent homelessness over the past three years.
This is a huge accomplishment for the southeastern Alberta city which has a population of around 65,000 people.
Since 2009, more than 1,323 homeless people, 358 of whom were chronic, have acquired a place to live through Housing First programs like the MHCHC.
Of those 1.323 people, 328 were children.
Rogers says it's been a difficult road to find housing for homeless but hopes other communities will do what they can to follow suit.
"People will continue to experience homelessness for various reasons and it is our responsibility, as Canadians, to ensure this work continues," she said.
However, homelessness is never really permanent.
In 2015, Medicine Hat made headlines for being the first and only Canadian city to end homelessness.
However, this was based on a system they had built as opposed to this new one which is federally approved.
The current system follows the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness's (CAEH) most recent definition of functional zero chronic homelessness.
There are 39 communities across Canada, including Medicine Hat, that have joined up with the CAEH's Built for Zero campaign.
Medicine Hat's Mayor Ted Clugston is proud of what the city has been able to do time and again.
"It all comes down to hope and I think Medicine Hat is providing that hope, that beacon," said Clugston.
"I had never realized how important that was until 2015 when we started announcing that we had solved homelessness."
In any given year across Canada, more than 235,000 people experience homelessness, but communities like Medicine Hat are stepping up to end the cycle.
"We still have more work to accomplish," said Rogers.
"We will continue to improve our overall systems responses, prevention services and work to increase the supply of housing throughout the country. For those of you who are not yet housed, we have not forgotten about you."
To learn more on the fight against homelessness in Canada, you can visit the Canadian Alliance of Homelessness's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.