Reaching Home program
Reaching Home is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to Designated Communities, Indigenous communities, territorial communities, and rural and remote communities across Canada.
Peel Region has been designated the Community Entity, or fund administrator. We’re responsible for guiding a community planning process through a Community Advisory Board to help set funding priorities and recommend projects for grants.
Target population
Proposed projects must serve or target individuals or families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. Under Reaching Home funding, definitions are as follows:
Homelessness is defined as a situation of an individual or family who does not have a permanent address or residence; the living situation of an individual or family who does not have stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.
Being at imminent risk of homelessness is defined as a situation where one’s current housing will end within 2 months, for whom no subsequent residence has been identified, and is at immediate risk of moving into an emergency shelter or a place not meant for human habitation.
Chronic homelessness includes staying in unsheltered locations, that is public or private without consent, or places not fit for human habitation, staying in emergency shelters, and staying temporarily with others without the guarantee of accessing permanent housing. Chronic homelessness refers to individuals or family who is currently homeless and who meets the following criteria:
- They have a total of at least 6 months or 180 days of homelessness in the past year (12 months).
- They have recurrent experiences of homelessness over the past 3 years, with a cumulative duration of at least 18 months or 546 days
Coordinated access
Under Reaching Home, Coordinated Access is a way for communities bring consistency, equity, and efficiency to the process by which people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness access services, housing and related resources within a geographic area.
With a Coordinated Access system in place, people across a community are directed to access points, where trained workers help them to access a range of services through a process of initial triage. When vacancies in housing units, subsidies or supports become available through Coordinated Access, these housing and related resources are offered to people that have been prioritized for them, based on a matching process that considers individual strengths, needs, and preferences, as well as local priorities. Throughout the process, people are helped to navigate next steps, sometimes through targeted case conferencing.
Requirement
Reaching Home requires all sub-projects receiving funding from Peel Region to participate in the Coordinated Access system and the Unique Identifier List (sometimes referred to as a By-Name List.)
Reaching Home funded projects providing housing placement (rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive housing) and associated support (case management) must receive referrals and fill vacancies through the coordinated access process.
Projects which have multiple funding sources may have program requirements imposed on them by other funders, and are encouraged but will not be required to assign all housing vacancies to the clients assessed through the coordinated access process.
Community Advisory Board and community plan
The Community Advisory Board is a local organizing committee responsible for guiding Reaching Home in Peel Region. Members are chosen through an open call for volunteers and represent the diversity of our community. All are committed to helping end homelessness in Peel. Advisory board members, with support from the Peel Region and Employment and Social Development Canada staff, will review your application and make funding recommendations.
The advisory board has developed the Reaching Home Community Plan which identifies existing conditions in Peel and funding priorities through to 2024.
The plan was approved by the Canadian government in September 2020 and will be updated annually.
Join the Community Advisory Board
The program is coordinated at the community level by the Community Advisory. Peel Region is accepting applications from residents in Peel to join the Community Advisory Board.
The advisory board is the local organizing committee responsible for setting direction for addressing homelessness in the community. It's responsible for developing a plan, reviewing applications, and recommending funding for Reaching Home projects.
Reaching Home funding is administered by Housing Client Services in the Human Services Department at the Peel Region.
If you have questions or require assistance with your Reaching Home application, you can email us.
We're committed to responding to your email within 2 business days.
You can also call Grace Gyles, Supervisor, Housing Client Services at 905-872-5298.
As the Service Manager for the affordable housing system Peel Region is required by the Canadian and Ontario governments to conduct a Point-in-Time Count. This includes:
- Enumeration: an annual estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night, and identifying where they stayed (such as shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations).
- Housing needs survey: that is completed in-person with individuals experiencing homelessness every 3 years to gather key information on demographics and experiences.
The count is used to understand the nature and extent of homelessness at a single point in time. This data helps us improve services and informs Peel’s 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan. The Point-in-Time Count is only one data sourced used by Peel to track homelessness.
The 2025 enumeration is taking place November 27, 2025. Data is expected to be available in 2026.
As fund administrator, Peel Region is required to complete and publish a Community Homelessness Report to track our progress.