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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>From the Ottawa Sun ©copyright Tuesday, April 16, 2013 – see </span></i><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/04/16/city-still-losing-battle-on-homelessness-says-alliance-to-end-homelessness">http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/04/16/city-still-losing-battle-on-homelessness-says-alliance-to-end-homelessness</a> for several related articles.<span style='color:#333333'><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>City still losing battle on homelessness says Alliance to End Homelessness</span></b><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>On the whole, Ottawa’s struggle to end homelessness is not going well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>There are 7,308 homeless people in the city — 858 families, more than 1,500 children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Those numbers are up over last year, dramatically up from nine years ago when the Alliance to End Homelessness first started releasing an annual report card.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>This year the grades range from A to F across the four categories the organization believe are the best way to combat homelessness.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Ottawa received its one and only A for making new affordable housing units available two years in a row — 886 of them last year, 139 which were newly created.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The target was 1,000 additional units.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Alliance executive director Lynne Browne said the city and local non-profit services went “above and beyond” in their efforts to get people out of shelters and into housing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The other good news, according to Browne, was the number of homeless in Ottawa on the whole, has stayed relatively the same since 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>There was a decrease in the number of single women in shelters and the length of stay for both single men and women is down.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The good news ends there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The worst grade, an F, was given in the “affordability of housing” category. The way the Alliance breaks this down is by calculating the percentage of a person’s income required to pay for where they live.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Someone earning minimum wage would have to spend 49% of their income to stay in a bachelor apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Someone on a disability pension would have to use 70% of their income while those who get their income from Ontario Works require 24% more than they earn to rent a bachelor apartment — or, 124% of their income.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>Two Cs were given for both the number of homeless and the length of time they stay in emergency shelter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The darkest figure here was the spike in the length of shelter stay of a family before they find housing — 88 days, a week longer in 2012 than 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The average stay is 68 days, which has stayed the same for two years. Back when the Alliance first started these reports, the average stay was 49, it dipped to around 44 in 2006 and has steadily climbed ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>“Thanks for sticking with us,” said Browne to supporters gathered Tuesday morning at the Booth Centre for the report’s release.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>“But, the work isn’t done yet.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'><a href="mailto:doug.hempstead@sunmedia.ca">doug.hempstead@sunmedia.ca</a> Twitter: @<a href="http://twitter.com%20doughempstead/"><span style='color:#0044AA;text-decoration:none'>DougHempstead</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Linda O'Neil<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Chair, Public Affairs Working Group<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Alliance to End Homelessness<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Public Education Consultant<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>301-1355 Bank St., Ottawa ON, K1H 8K7<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="mailto:loneil@cmhaottawa.ca" title="mailto:loneil@cmhaottawa.ca"><span style='color:blue'>loneil@cmhaottawa.ca</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Tel: (613) 737-7791 Ext 135</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>