*This CAEH Bright Spot was written by听Tiffany Dorman, the manager of homelessness and supportive housing with the Regional Municipality of Halton.听
It was about a year ago. A supportive housing provider in Halton Region reached out to me.听
They said, 鈥渉ey,听we鈥檝e听heard what听you鈥檙e听doing with coordinated access. How can we get听involved?鈥�听
For me, that was one of many moments that really hit home. It reminded me why it mattered to have all those hard conversations, the growing听pains听and the work听we鈥檝e听done over the last six years to build our coordinated access system.听听
The interesting part is that, even though we act as the Community Entity overseeing millions in federal Reaching Home funding, this听particular supportive听housing provider was not one of our funded agencies.听
They had no obligation to take a referral from our coordinated access system鈥�the process the Region uses to听determine听how supportive housing vacancies are matched to people on the By-Name Data听
And yet, they still reached out and asked if we could use our By-Name Data听to听identify听people for the units they had coming available.听
Now听that海角社区听a sign of trust in the system.听听
And听it海角社区听how we are听addressing听homelessness in Halton Region, as one community working听together.听
Building coordinated access in Halton听
In 2019, the federal government听launched Reaching Home, which听introduced a requirement for听funded听communities to implement coordinated access听as part of their work听to reduce and end homelessness.听
As a Region, we took the time to听truly understand听the model. We learned everything we could, brought in听OrgCode听to guide us on best practices, and embraced the approach wholeheartedly. As an evidence-based system that brings together all the key agencies to prevent and end homelessness using real-time, local data鈥攊t just makes sense.听
At that time, Halton Region already had a Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Housing Leadership Group, which brought together local housing and homelessness leaders, police services, and our local Ontario Health Teams. It created听a strong foundation听of cross-sector collaboration to build from.听
Once we fully understood Coordinated Access, we began engaging our听CSWB听stakeholders.听
We听didn鈥檛听limit this work to Reaching Home-funded agencies.听We engaged the entire community, because housing and homelessness are system-wide issues that cannot be confined to one funding stream.听听
We brought everyone together and educated them about coordinated access: what it is, why it matters, what we needed to implement in Halton, and how critical their involvement would be.听听
And we asked questions鈥攁 lot of questions.听
Coordinated access means a fundamental change鈥攊t海角社区听worth the听hard work听
It海角社区听challenging to tell organizations that they will need to start using a new system, track new data,听and听adopt a shared听Homeless Management Information System.听
Even harder to tell organizations they will no longer manage their own听waitlists and听will instead receive referrals through the Region.听听
These are fundamental changes. The conversations were not easy.听
There was of course resistance鈥攑eople听didn鈥檛听want to change the technology they were using, they听didn鈥檛听want听additional听oversight, and they听didn鈥檛听want to lose autonomy when selecting their clients.听
But we were committed to bringing everyone on board and including everyone in the program design. So, we stayed focused on the why鈥攚hy coordinated access was going to help us reduce and听ultimately end听homelessness.听
Instead of having these conversations in small groups, we held them in large, open forums.听
In Halton Region,听we were听completely transparent about the fact that we听didn鈥檛听yet know how every detail would work鈥攂ut we were committed to figuring it out听together.听听
We also learned very quickly that while senior leaders excel at strategy, they are not always best positioned to inform how a system functions on the frontline. That insight prompted one of our strongest decisions:听deeply engaging the frontline.听
We听established听three working groups to help design the system:听
- Community Supports Group, for those making referrals into our homelessness response system;听
- Entry Points Group, including shelters and outreach; and听
- Housing Providers Group, for those accepting placements.听
We taught each听working group about coordinated access, explained the best practices, asked for a lot of feedback, and听ultimately co-developed recommendations that shaped our implementation.听For听us, this was听coordinated听access in action, built by the听community, for the听community.听
We听saw coordinated access听as the only meaningful way to address homelessness across the community, and as leaders, we made a conscious choice to champion the approach.听听
We have not looked back.听
What We Learned Along the Way听
The biggest lesson has been that听this work is fundamentally relationship-based.听听
To do听coordinated access听well,听the听lead organization听must genuinely know听the community海角社区听service providers,听understand their challenges, listen to their realities, and be willing to help problem-solve whenever possible.听
We also learned that true system leadership听requires听being more involved than you might听expect or听want听to be.听听
Housing providers are doing their听very best听with the person in front of them and the information they have.听听
But as a system leader,听we听see the entire continuum: people moving from unsheltered homelessness, into shelter, into housing, and sometimes back again.听There听were times when听we听needed听to step in, even when听we听didn鈥檛听want to, simply because it听was听the right thing to do.听
One of the ways we operationalized this was by听asking funded agencies not to evict anyone without consulting us听first.听听
With 15 supportive housing programs across Halton region, including those that are not funded through听Reaching Home, we know that on the first try we听won鈥檛听always place someone in a housing unit that works for them. Sometimes a placement simply听isn鈥檛听the best fit, or the level of support听isn鈥檛听quite what a person needs at that moment.听听
When that happens, we work closely with听the supportive housing听providers to explore rehousing options within the system. Often a different program with a different model, environment, or support approach can make the difference听between someone having a safe place to call home and falling back into homelessness.听
We also lean in to help stabilize situations that can be improved through stronger support plans or听additional听services. And on the other end of the continuum, we support providers in听helping people find new units听if and when听they are ready to move into housing options that have greater independence and less supports.听听
Because we see the full picture across all 15 programs,听we鈥檙e听often able to听identify听the next best step for someone鈥攚hether听that海角社区听more support, a different type of support, or less support as someone grows more stable and ready to move to a new unit.听
This hands-on, partnership-driven approach has strengthened relationships so much that we now have providers, including those we听don鈥檛听fund, asking to听participate听in our coordinated access听system and prioritizing individuals from the By-Name听Data听for听available units.听
The Hard Conversations Got Easier听
Difficult conversations are a natural part of this work.听听
But because our relationships are strong, those conversations no longer feel difficult, they feel like the same supportive, honest discussions听you鈥檇听have with members of your own team.听听
That is the benefit of building trust first.听
Still Learning, Always Improving听听
Our system is far from perfect, and we continue to learn more every day.听听
Right now, we are focusing on embedding lived experience into our programming and aggressively creating new supportive听housing听so we have enough units in our region for the people who need them.听听
Because without enough housing, even the strongest system can only go so far.听
This project was funded by the Government of Canada.听