Initiatives like Housing First and Built for Zero, he said, offer a strong foundation. What needs to be addressed is the organization, delivery and support of ideas that have strong evidentiary proof of success, backed by data. If we think about that critically and put that into practice… we can achieve great things when it comes to homelessness and achieving great things means we can end homelessness."Īcross the Niagara region, in terms of key ingredients, he said there are many good things happening. "Homelessness is not the failure of the person, it's the failure of our systems of care. "It is absolutely OK to hate homelessness, it is never OK to hate people who are homeless," he said. There's nothing in between." De Jong, author of The Book on Homelessness, spoke on best practices for shifting from managing to ending homelessness at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.Īt times blunt in his approach, he said many of the things people think may help often end up making things worse not better.ĭoes this get individuals closer to the experience of being housed? If it doesn't, why are we doing it? Homelessness is binary you're either housed or not housed. "The only known cure for homelessness is housing," said the Ontario-based researcher and professor.
It was a bit revolutionary in its simplicity. Midway through his address to stakeholders and regional politicians, self-proclaimed positive disrupter Iain De Jong dropped his answer to solving the problem of homelessness. The entrepreneurial spirit of the homeless in action: asking.
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