Penny Earley, a Cambrian College professor in the Social Service Worker program and Margaret Borley, both members of the Community Solutions Team on Homelessness, presented a recommendation to Greater Sudbury City Council on December 13 that called for the coordination of services for the homeless. The proposed homelessness strategy would be based on the “Housing First” strategy that was successfully developed and implemented in cities such as Chicago, Toronto, and Waterloo. Council allocated funding to support all existing homeless initiatives and approved a request for proposal to find a service provider to provide co-ordinated outreach services, effective April 2007.

The City’s Community Solutions Team is comprised of City council members, business, social agencies and academic researchers.