Analytics and Collaboration in the Social Sector
The approach to ending homelessness in Edmonton, of actually moving people into appropriate forms of housing, has been as successful as it has been because of cross-sector collaboration in creating data-informed strategies. Working together with frontline agencies and all levels of government has been the key to housing over 17,000 people here since 2009, and has been a key factor in the effectiveness of Edmonton’s response to protect people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Duncan Scott, Research and Evaluation Analyst at Homeward Trust, recently presented on this topic – Analytics in the Social Sector – during a Lunchalytics webinar. Lunchalytics is a monthly speaker series showcasing interesting and innovative work in the field of analytics (also presenting were Maria Savidov, Business Analyst, and Jakob Koziel, Research Analyst, both from Bissell Centre). Duncan is part of a hard-working and talented team of data analysts at Homeward Trust.
“The spirit of collaboration has been there for some time and is one of the reasons we have been able to house as many people as we have. COVID-19 has added extra layers of urgency, a need for more refined information and data that could be shared as efficiently as possible,” reflects Duncan.
The prospect of effectively eliminating homelessness in the very near future might seem a bit daunting, but the incorporation of real-time data into the plan to end homelessness in Edmonton has helped shine a more discerning light on the problem and has also actively informed a more strategic path towards solving it for good.
Duncan, who has been with Homeward Trust for two and a half years now, has seen a significant evolution in the way data is collected and utilized in the local homeless-serving sector: increased access to up-to-date information for Housing Outreach Workers; interactive, public-facing online dashboards; and data being made available to interact with frontline operations in a more consistent way. The proof of the effectiveness of this approach is in the results–between March 1st and July 12th, even in the midst of a pandemic, 573 formerly homeless individuals have been successfully housed in Edmonton.
“We are able to use data to improve housing programs, to better identify individuals who may require a higher level of support to stay safely housed, and to minimize the cracks that people may have been slipping through before. We still have some work to do, and we also see more potential if we can continue to increase the sophistication of our data systems and improve efficiency in data collection, but the overall approach has been successful and there is more and more collaboration in the sector.”
Data System
COVID-19 has shown that housing really is the best front-line of defense against a major public health crisis, but individuals experiencing homelessness simply don’t have the ability to shelter in place. The emergency supports and services that had been offered at the Edmonton Expo Centre were a crucial part of the response effort.
“We have noticed that a proportion of individuals who have met with housing workers at the EXPO Centre are new to Edmonton’s list of people requiring housing assistance,” Duncan mused, “The exact reasons for this inflow into homelessness are unclear at this time, and right now, we do have some slack in the system. But if spacing requirements [for physical distancing] are increased, the data shows the possibility that occupancy could outstrip existing emergency shelter capacity.”
Having the use of a large, adaptable and centralized space like the Edmonton Expo Centre was an important component in being able to effectively support this vulnerable population during this time, while also adhering to the physical distancing guidelines laid out by the Province of Alberta.
“By continuing to collaborate within the sector, with all levels of government, with health and justice systems, among others, we can continue to take big strides towards ending homelessness in Edmonton during this public health crisis,” Duncan adds, “Data can point to what the potential barriers are, but it has also demonstrated just how solvable homelessness is. We will eventually move beyond COVID-19, and we can be ending homelessness while we do that, the recovery from this can be for everyone.”
Services are being provided at the Edmonton EXPO Centre for Edmontonians experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, including pet friendly space and pet supplies. For more information on the supports and services available visit our COVID-19 Resources page.
Pets can be an incredible source of emotional support, and this is certainly true for our community members that are without a place to call home. When COVID-19 impacted our community so profoundly, the good people at VCA Canada Riverbend Veterinary Hospital recognized that some very specific support was needed, and they stepped up to provide what help they could.
“Homeward Trust does an exceptional job of caring for Edmontonians and we are always proud to support them. After the cancellation of Homeless Connect, we anticipated that our community partners may need supplies for their pet parents and we wanted to help.”
For those experiencing homelessness there is no shortage of stress and worry, and if they also have pets to care for that stress is further compounded. A big part of what the semi-annual Homeless Connect events provide is some relief of that stress while people begin to engage with needed supports, services and ultimately begin the process to move out of homelessness. VCA Canada Riverbend Veterinary Hospital regularly donates pet supplies to these events, but because of the restrictions necessitated by COVID-19 the spring event had to be cancelled. When they were made aware of the services and shelter being provided at the Edmonton Expo Centre, they reached out to Nestlé Purina PetCare who then provided an entire pallet of pet food and supplies.
“As a proud member of the Edmonton area community, we are happy to help support its citizens and their pets during this challenging time. As pet people, we know that pets and people are better together, and that’s never been truer than during times of crisis,” says Fiona Provan of Nestlé Purina PetCare.
On behalf of everyone delivering and receiving support at the Edmonton Expo Centre during this public health crisis, we want to extend our sincerest thank-you to both of these community-minded organizations for their generosity and thoughtfulness.
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JILL KELLAND
Shortly before COVID-19 began to have such a profound impact on everyone in our community, Homeward Trust Edmonton hosted the annual ROOPH Awards, recognizing outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses that are working to address affordable housing and homelessness initiatives in Edmonton.
The Larry Shaben Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Housing Sector is presented to an individual that has exemplified true leadership and affected change at a community and systemic level. The winner of this award is someone who has had a long-term impact on affordable housing or homelessness in the Edmonton region by demonstrating and encouraging collaboration with other organizations and sectors. This is an individual with a reputation for making a genuine difference to housing and enhancing lives.
This year’s Larry Shaben Award recipient is Jill Kelland of Alberta Health Services.
Jill Kelland is an accomplished leader, change agent and community builder who has worked with Alberta Health Services for over 34 years. Jill is known for her advocacy of system transformation and has worked tirelessly to create a spectrum of housing options and supports for people struggling with homelessness, addictions, mental health challenges and complex medical issues. Over the past 10 years, Jill has focused on creating a low barrier spectrum of culturally sensitive, permanent and transitional housing options for individuals facing homelessness, experiencing homeless or living in substandard accommodations. Throughout her career, Jill has demonstrated the ability to work in multi-partnered, complex environments and envision new ways of providing better housing options or options where none existed previously.
Check our the rest of the 2020 ROOPH Award winners here!
Karen has been volunteering with Homeward Trust for 10 years. Her involvement began in 2010, when she volunteered as an “engager,” informing people about the organization and its resources. She has participated in several events since then, including Homeless Connect, Homeless Count, the 20,000 Homes Campaign, and Welcome Home. In addition to volunteering at Homeward Trust, Karen volunteers for PrayerWorks at St. Faith’s Church, community leagues, casino events for Central Lions, and more.
What does volunteering mean to you?
Every person should volunteer. It means the opportunity make others feel noticed, appreciated and to help lift people up from situations they want to escape.
Why is it volunteering important to you?
I try to volunteer with the population that has been forgotten—the homeless. It always surprises me when I hear the attitudes of people towards the homeless. I cannot believe in this marvelous country so many people have no shelter. My heart breaks for those living on the street.
How are you navigating volunteering amid the pandemic?
I am volunteering more at PrayerWorks. We are cooking every Friday to provide food for marginalized individuals.
Can you tell us a favourite memory from when you volunteered with us?
My very first Homeless Connect. I was an engager and I truly enjoyed going out in the community and speaking to the people. I love the opportunity Homeward Trust offers to meet, talk to and assist the homeless/marginalized population.
Brian started volunteering with Homeward Trust in 2012 after retiring from the United Way. At Homeward Trust, Brian has volunteered countless hours at Homeless Connect, Homeless Count, Toque Tuesday and also served as Sponsorship Chair on the Coordinating Committee in 2015-2016. In addition to volunteering at Homeward Trust, Brian volunteers at several other organizations in the community including: Habitat for Humanity, the Edmonton Food Bank, the Seniors Financial Empowerment Network, Alberta Clinical Research Consortium, Edmonton Fringe Festival and more.
What does volunteering mean to you?
This is a tough one. In some cases, like festivals, it’s just a selfish desire to help sustain something (the performing arts) that I personally enjoy. In the case of helping [not-for-profit] agencies and health projects, it just means being able to look beyond my own needs; contribute to something outside of my personal circle; express gratitude for my own good fortune; have an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life; and to be able to contribute to changes in how some things are managed in the future.
Why is volunteering important to you?
I’m in my 70’s now and past career goals. Volunteering gives me that sense of purpose and fulfillment. A rewarding task to focus on and satisfaction that comes at the end of a project. At times it also reminds me how fortunate I am and it humbles me. It reminds me to be thankful for my own good fortune and reasonably good health and reminds me not to take myself too seriously when I complain about something that’s happened.
How are you navigating volunteering at this time?
Like many, I’m going a bit stir-crazy. Most activities have been cancelled and I miss the activity. I’ve been fortunate to be involved in some Zoom Meetings and some online projects to work on. Given my wife’s health issues and compromised immune system, I’m choosing to stay close to home and foregoing the few active opportunities still out there, e.g. volunteering to sort at the Food Bank.
What is a favourite memory you have from volunteering with Homeward Trust?
I tell everyone about Homeless Connect and have convinced many to join us volunteering. It always gives me pleasure to talk to them after and see how their impression of someone who is homeless has changed after seeing whole families, young children, senior citizens at the event.
One story that sticks out is from a few years back. I was talking to another volunteer who was grumbling about being accosted by a homeless person as she was coming into the event centre. She was quite upset that he would be asking her for money and she proceeded to tell him she herself was on a limited budget, but was coming to spend the day volunteering. After listening to her rant, the gentleman apologized for bothering her and asked if she would like some of the McDonald’s discount coupons he had. I thought that was priceless.
Another memory is from doing the homeless count. We were working at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre that year. An obviously intoxicated gentleman started talking to us quite loudly and belligerently; telling us a bit about how tough he was; he’d spent time in jail, he wasn’t afraid of anything; etc, etc. My wife was a bit apprehensive, but before long, he was our best friend and spent the rest of the evening sitting and helping us with the count.
Read our past blog posts here.
This holiday season is particularly special for Ezra and his 18-year-old Brussels Griffon Shih Tzu mix, Muppet. This month, the duo celebrates one year of being housed through Homeward Trust’s Housing Support program.
Before he had been housed, Ezra and Muppet had experienced homelessness for a year in Edmonton before securing permanent housing. However, Ezra had really been without stable housing for 15 years.
“I had a piece of property [on Hatzic Island, east of Mission, BC] but I just had a shed on it,” he explains. “It wasn’t considered a ‘dwelling’ since it didn’t have an occupancy permit. I would spend some summers and some winters there, but I typically would try to find alternative accommodation for the winter.”
Ezra was a full-time driver for a furniture moving company, which required him to drive across the country or into the USA doing moves for the Department of National Defence and the RCMP. He often would sleep in his truck or pitch a tent and camp out.
“You can live outside in BC in the summertime and nobody looks at you funny because everyone is camping,” he says. “I would tour around, moving furniture across the country. It was like a paid vacation all summer.”
Ezra reveals that he didn’t know that his provisional accommodations categorized him as homeless, or what the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness describes as experiencing hidden homelessness. Those experiencing hidden homelessness could be couch surfing, staying with friends or family, sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings or other precarious accommodation.
Ezra admits that he continued to sleep in those provisional accommodations even after moving to Edmonton in 2015. He started his own moving company and would sleep in his truck or his workshop between trips.
“I didn’t know anything else,” he reflects.
An unfortunate turn of events resulted in Ezra losing everything, including his company, vehicles, trailer and other hard assets. With nowhere to go, Ezra was forced to seek out support and services from emergency shelters, food banks and other homeless-serving organizations. Ezra and Muppet could not stay at any of the shelters in the city due to their no-pet policies, leaving Ezra to find alternate accommodations.
Getting rid of Muppet wasn’t an option and Ezra was determined to find somewhere for them to stay.
In the meantime, Ezra managed to find an empty security hut with heat, which he transformed into a makeshift living space for himself and Muppet during the winter by bringing in cushions, a mattress and Muppet’s dishes.
“I lived in there. I had to be super careful that no one saw my footprints in the snow. Security went by there 10 to 20 times a day,” he says. “I did all of this for Muppet. I wouldn’t give up Muppet for anything in the world.”
In October 2018, through the recommendation of a counselor at Boyle Street Community Services, Ezra visited Homeward Trust’s Coordinated Access service for their Housing Support programs. It wasn’t until the intake interview that Ezra learned that he had, in fact, been in and out of homelessness for the last 15 years and had been chronically homeless for one year.
“I had no fixed address. I was living in a 22-foot trailer in Edmonton,” he says. “When they broke it down, they realized that I had been homeless for a while.”
Ezra said it took 30 days for him and Muppet to get housed.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “They told me that I would be housed before Christmas and then on December 21, 2018, I got my first home.”
Ezra was first housed in a downtown apartment but relocated to a one-bedroom unit in Belgravia, where he and Muppet now live.
As for the holidays, Ezra admits he doesn’t have any traditions since his parents passed away in 2006 and 2007, but he does like to cook, and he plans on making a turkey dinner and invite some friends over.
“Muppet definitely appreciates it,” he says.
One thing is for certain: Ezra and Muppet are grateful to be in their own home after years of experiencing homelessness and look forward to relaxing at home for their one-year anniversary of being housed.
A new pilot program, supported by Homeward Trust, has empowered several Indigenous young women and girls between the ages of 7 and 17 with the skills to achieve greater independence and housing stability.
The program, Preparing Young Women for Safe, Secure Housing, is a prevention-focused intervention for young Indigenous women developed in partnership between the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW) and the Bissell Centre as a response to the high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The off-site program supports young women who face a multitude of barriers, including loss of identity, lack of confidence or hope, a limited Circle of Support or mental health issues.
Structured as a four-day camp in a serene location at Wabaman Lake, participants were provided information related to housing stability, personal safety, independent living, cultural education and ceremony.
“For these young women, the camp instilled a sense of cultural pride and empowered them to imagine the kind of home and community they want to create.”
Participants learned about the housing supports that they and their families can access through the Bissell Centre. Survivors of violence said that having safe and secure housing was important to their personal success. This focus prevents young Indigenous women from experiencing homelessness in the first place, supporting them in their rights as tenants, types of programs available to them, how to appropriately budget, and other important skills they may not otherwise have access.
For these young women, the camp instilled a sense of cultural pride and empowered them to imagine the kind of home and community they wanted to create. At the end of the program, an Elder presented each camper with a feather, representing their role as “Elders-in-the-Making” who will leave camp and go on to build homes, relationships and communities.
Hannah Gousy, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Crisis in the United Kingdom, was recently in Edmonton to learn about the city’s plan to end homelessness and how it is impacting change on a national level. Awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship, Hannah’s research is an examination of political campaigning strategies for ending homelessness. The Fellowship supports her travels to Spain, the United States, Austria and Canada to learn about successful political strategies and commitments to ending homelessness. She will bring these findings and solutions back to the UK with the intent to establish long-lasting and sustained change. Our team caught up with Hannah during her visit to Homeward Trust and discussed Crisis, the Winston Churchill Fellowship and more.
Homeward Trust Edmonton: Tell us about Crisis and your role there.
Hannah Gousy: I work at Crisis, which is a national homelessness charity based in the UK and operates in England, Scotland and Wales. Crisis has service-delivery centers that operate across all three nations, providing front-line services to help end people’s homelessness.
I work in the Policy and Campaigns team, which – working with others – helps generate the solutions needed to end homelessness all together and campaigning for the change needed to achieve that, such as building public support for political change or working with politicians to implement the policies we know are essential in ending homelessness.
HTE: What is England’s plan to end homelessness?
HG: In England we have a commitment to half rough-sleeping by 2022 and end it all together by 2027, but we don’t have a commitment or strategy in place around tackling and preventing wider-form homelessness like people living in temporary forms of accommodation or those who are doubling up—what you call here, couch-surfing. Everybody In: How to End Homelessness in Great Britain helps to set out what homelessness ended will look like in the UK. There are around 150 policy recommendations [in the plan], but largely it looks at housing-led or housing-first approaches to ending homelessness, focusing on prevention, legislative reforms, increasing our affordable housing supply, and providing a robust safety net.
HTE: Is this Britain’s first 10-year plan?
HG: Yes. It was an amazing process putting it together [Everybody In: How to End Homelessness in Great Britain] and we managed to consult with over 1000 people who either work front-line delivering homelessness services, work in policy, or have lived experience of homelessness themselves. Around a third of the people we worked with to put the plan together had experience
HTE: What is the Winston Churchill Fellowship?
HG: At the time that [the plan] was published last June, I applied for a Winston Churchill Fellowship. You apply for a project of your choosing—you can propose any topic you want, which is really cool. I was really keen on going to countries around the world where they have been working really well to end homelessness; they have political commitments and plans in place; and look at the campaigning and advocacy work that went into achieving those plans and commitments, which is why I chose to come to Canada. I’ve been doing some work at Crisis with Tim Richter [President and CEO of Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness]—he has endorsed Crisis’ plan to end homelessness—and recommended that Edmonton would be a great place to visit. It feels like so much of the work that has happened here in Edmonton and the vision set out are being reflected on a national level.
HTE: What cities are you visiting to conduct your research?
HG: Barcelona, Madrid, Washington, Houston, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto and Vienna. These are all places where political administrations have made commitments and put plans in place designed to end homelessness.
HTE: Homeward Trust acts as a system-planner coordinating a
community-based approach to address homelessness in Edmonton. What is the structure
at Crisis?
HG: We have a different system at home, and the model you have here is very similar to the one I’ve just been learning about in Houston.
The organization I was visiting in Houston also oversaw the city’s coordinated access program. One of the things that I have been super impressed with both in America and here is in the ways the coordinated approach at a local level has been driven by evidence of what works to end homelessness. We don’t have a shared outcomes framework at home, which would be essential in helping to end homelessness for good.
HTE: From what you’ve learned so far, what are you excited to bring
to the UK?
HG: Making sure that all homelessness services are driven by the data of what works is very important in ending homelessness.
This approach at the local level in Edmonton has undoubtedly been very important in influencing the work of the federal government. It’s clear that what is taking place here has demonstrated to politicians that there are real and workable solutions to reducing and ending homelessness for good in Canada.
The second is the way in which campaigners have taken data on what works to end homelessness to make effective cost-benefit arguments to help win political support to end homelessness.
I’m now looking forward to finding out more in Toronto and Ottawa about the work that’s taken place to establish a right to housing for all Canadians and what more can be done to prevent homelessness occurring in the first place.
A recent CBR project* led by researchers from the Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families (CUP), has revealed the initial impacts of the Successful Families program—a supportive housing program designed to help teen parents secure safe and affordable housing.
“We hope that, through sharing the impacts of the program on teen parents, we can contribute to evolving effective practices for working with teen families, not only through supportive housing, but through services delivered to teen families more generally,” says Dr. Melissa Tremblay, Assistant Professor of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta.
Supportive housing initiatives provide flexible, individualized and accessible supports to people experiencing vulnerable circumstances to achieve housing stability. The study found that teen parents participating in the program felt:
- Less stress (79%)
- More confident as a parent (89%)
- They could better afford their monthly rent (84%)
- They lived in a safe place (79%)
- Their basic needs for clothing (89%), food (84%) and shelter (95%) were being met.
Additionally, the program helped participating teen families establish “natural supports”—an extended support network (family, friends, neighbours and co-workers) outside of the program that would benefit participants after their involvement in the program ends.
The study also revealed areas that required additional provisions, such as budget management and developing relationships with other program participants.
Impacts on service delivery practices
The goal of evaluating, testing, and examining the impacts of the Successful Families program was to establish a suitable and relevant program model of supportive housing, which could be shared with other community agencies.
“Since carrying out this project, a number of agencies have expressed interest in the Successful Families program model and the program continues to share their practices through ongoing knowledge mobilization,” says Tremblay. “This program is highly unique, and we continue to disseminate our learnings regarding promising practices that we were able to delve into with our research methods.”
Teens participating in the program were asked what service delivery models are required for their needs to be met and programs to be most effective. Three main themes emerged: access to supports and services such as the food bank, library, and preschool programs; safe, secure, and affordable housing that allows teens to parent autonomously; and a safe and family-friendly neighbourhood, community integration, and acceptance.
The Research
Several methods were used to determine the initial impacts of the Successful Families program, including self-report questionnaires for parents, child development assessments, photovoice, and meeting notes and observations. Qualitative data (photovoice and corresponding group discussions, meeting notes and observations) were analyzed using thematic analysis—a method of analysis for identifying, analyzing, organizing, describing and reporting themes within a data set. Quantitative data (self-report questionnaires and child assessments) were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
The photovoice method was used to gain insight from teen parents about their experiences receiving supportive housing. Photovoice is a participatory method in which participants use photography and storytelling to identify and represent issues important to them. For this project, parents were asked to take photos in response to two specific questions and send their photos to the researchers for discussion.
For researchers, Tremblay and Rebecca Gokiert, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta, photovoice allowed for meaningful participation from teen parents, which provided them with opportunities for growth and empowerment.
“We hope that our research facilitates enhanced understanding of the realities and perspectives of teen parents, as well as increasing recognition of teen families’ strengths,” says Tremblay.
The research findings emerge as the final component of a two-phase project. Phase 1, which also received funding from Homeward Trust through the Community-Based Research program, focused on developing and implementing the Successful Families Program; Phase 2 examined the initial impacts of the program. Dr. Tremblay and Dr. Gokiert will continue working with the Successful Families program to explore how to expand mental health services for teen families through a Clinical/Community Research Integration Support Program (CRISP) grant provided through the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI).
*This project is one of many Community-Based Research (CBR) projects supported by Homeward Trust through the Federal Reaching Home program. CBR research projects receive funding to explore issues related to homelessness that provide evidence for leading practices in the sector, identify knowledge gaps, and build collaboration among academic and community-based partners to inform system planning efforts. To learn more about this project or other community-based research relating to housing and homelessness, visit http://homewardtrust.ca/what-weve-learned/reports-publications/
Alex Decoteau Park in downtown Edmonton hosted the Homeward Trust medicine garden. Amid the rows of raised planters containing vegetables and fruit, the medicine garden was on a small, triangular plot first planted in 2018.
The garden was used as a hands-on tool to educate front-line workers on traditional herbs and plants, their relationship to Indigenous culture, and their significance in ceremonies and everyday life as for many First Nations people in Canada, practicing their traditions includes preserving and maintaining the practice of utilizing Indigenous medicinal plants both for ceremony and personal healing.
Throughout the growing season, employees and partner agencies spent time in the garden learning about the plants, their uses and their significance in traditional Indigenous practices. Medicine gardens and other similar initiatives are an ongoing component of Homeward Trust’s focus on Indigenous cultural awareness through experiential learning, and with the current work in Alex Decouteau Park, Homeward Trust is reenvisioning the Medicine Garden for 2025.
Plants as Medicine
Plants are a crucial component of Indigenous medicine, and more than 500 different plants are used for their healing properties. Here are some plant types and their uses:
Cedar. Used as a vitamin C supplement, in the 1700s, Indigenous people treated Europeans suffering from scurvy with a tea made of white cedar.
Dandelion. Cleanses the liver and can be used as an antioxidant.
Mint. Mint leaves contain properties that help remove arterial plaque, a significant cause of hypertension. First Nations have long used mint to make a relaxing and healthy tea.
Nicotiana Tabacum. Considered a sacred medicine, it was used in ceremonies long before contact with Europeans. The plant grown in this garden is not the traditional tobacco plant used in the ceremony; however, it is symbolic within the garden as an offering to the Earth and as an acknowledgment of its critical role within the Indigenous culture.
Sage. White or Buffalo Sage is primarily used in ceremonies and for praying. It creates a cleansing energy, stimulates the immune system, and heals the mind and body.
Sweetgrass. Like sage, sweetgrass cleanses energy but can also be used in a warm bath to help treat shingles, eczema, and other skin conditions.
White Pine. Used for ceremonial medicines, spiritual healing, and protection in conflict, it promotes good energy.
