For 40 years, Homes First has been creating housing solutions for the City’s most vulnerable.  Our priority has always been to serve individuals with the fewest options, who face some of the highest barriers to exiting homelessness and maintaining housing.  We currently operate 25 properties and serve over 2,000 individuals every night; we provide housing to roughly 500 individuals across our 15 supportive housing sites and  for over 1,600 individuals across our 9 shelters.

One of the founders of the Housing First approach, we were the first agency to provide single adult supportive housing in Toronto and remain one of the largest providers of non-profit housing for people with lived or living experience of homelessness in the City. We also know that approximately 15-20% of the homeless population have complex needs, needs that far too often result in higher risk of eviction, refusal of service delivery and hospitalization. Unless steps are taken to provide added support, Housing First recipients will return to staying outdoors or re-enter the shelter system. It is essential that we create models of support that address these challenging dynamics.

Our management and frontline teams have a deep and wide-ranging skill set in shelter and case management. All departments (i.e., Property Management, Human Resources, Finance, Development, Fundraising) are committed to the agency’s central goal of maintaining residents’ housing, improving their quality of life, and empowering them to achieve their own life goals.