Ironically, it costs more to ignore our housing problem than it would to simply fix it.
We can end homelessness, and the cost of failing to do so is unacceptably high.
Investing in affordable and appropriate housing can seem like a significant upfront expense. However, the consequences of inaction are far more costly.
When we choose not to invest adequately in housing for the poorest Canadians, health care, justice, and other taxpayer-funded costs increase dramatically. While it may not sound intuitive to some, research shows it is more cost-effective to invest in preventing homelessness than continuing to react to it with band-aid solutions.
Ready to learn why? Join us and our panelists for a detailed discussion on the cost comparison and insights into cost-effective solutions for the homelessness crisis. RSVP now, and learn more about our panelists below!
HOST
C.L. Michel is the Senior French Content Coordinator at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. She studied French and English literature at McMaster University and spent eight years as a language teacher, working with learners of all ages. She decided to focus on translation in 2018 and returned to school at Glendon College for skill building and certification, and it was during this time that she started working at the COH in a part-time student position. She started full-time at the COH in 2022 and her role is focused on the language side of things: editing, translating, and doing the terminological work required to deliver high quality resources in both French and English.
PANELISTS
Lucie Richard is a health geographer and health services researcher MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital. By drawing on administrative data repositories like ICES, the Canadian Institute for Health Information and Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centres, Lucie aims to demonstrate the value of low-burden, cost-effective approaches to generating some types of insights, while at the same time advocating for improving data quality in these sources. Her work has informed public health policies and interventions in Ontario to mitigate well-documented health disparities among people experiencing homelessness, such as early access to COVID-19 vaccination and improved winter service planning.
Melissa Giles is the Managing Director of BC Rent Bank, a project of Vancity Community Foundation funded by the Province of BC. BC Rent Bank supports a network of rent banks across the province that provide essential eviction prevention and housing stability supports. She has almost 20 years of experience working in the non-profit sector, both domestically and internationally, and is passionate about social justice and housing affordability issues. In her work with BC Rent Bank, she focuses on what’s important: assisting renters with practical solutions in their time of crisis.
Sarah Ferrabee is a Program Coordinator of Collaborative Planning and Projects for the City of Ottawa. She began her career in 2015, supporting young parents in emergency shelters. She currently works on large-scale policy and strategic initiatives to address housing and homelessness in Ottawa. She holds a Master’s in Public Health, which informs her approach to systems change with a strong focus on the social determinants of health and prevention.