A rising number of Canadians in hospital are struggling to keep a roof over their heads as the affordability, mental health and substance use crises continue to escalate.
Earlier this summer, research in the Canadian Medical Association Journal pointed to an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness — many of them seniors — waiting for appropriate places to go when they are discharged from hospital.
Last year, about 30,000 people experiencing homelessness were admitted to hospitals in Canada, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The research also found these admissions were about twice as lengthy and more than double the cost of admissions of patients who had places to go upon discharge.
As someone who works on the front lines providing affordable housing and support to at-risk seniors and adults living with mental health and substance use challenges, I see these statistics play out on a daily basis. I see the heavy toll on individuals struggling in isolation and across the health system as it tries to fill service gaps with limited resources.
But, as difficult as it is to watch the needs of so many going unmet in our communities, I consider myself fortunate to also get to see the other side — when people get the life-changing support they so desperately need. I’m extremely grateful to be part of a team on the other end of a lifeline when it’s extended to someone who is in imminent danger of sinking.
LOFT, the non-profit organization I’ve headed for the past seven years, provides affordable housing and a unique mix of customized supports to people living with mental and physical health challenges, substance use issues, poverty, and homelessness.
We deliver recovery-based supportive housing to nearly 1,900 clients living with complex mental health or addiction challenges in numerous residential locations across Ontario.
At the same time, we relieve pressure on hospitals in many communities by providing homes and support to so-called alternate level of care (ALC) patients — patients who no longer require hospital-level care but occupy hospital beds because they don’t have anywhere else to go that offers the appropriate level of support they need. Last year alone, we helped more than 480 ALC patients transition from hospitals into community settings or long-term care. LOFT’s approach also offers significant savings to the healthcare system. An ALC hospital bed costs $32,000 per month, while care in the community costs $3,500.
What differentiates our approach from other supportive housing programs is our focus on delivering 24/7 support tailored to the needs of each client and providing them an affordable place to live that is specifically designed for them to get the kind of care and support they need.
Our clients gain housing and remain independent in homes of their own for as long as possible, avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and premature moves into long-term care homes. Our goal is to provide each person with a high quality of life as defined by them, including a stable and secure home.
We help keep at-risk seniors and older people from ending up on the streets. We help our clients access support they often haven’t been able to get through traditional channels, enabling them to live successfully in the community.
But we know there is far more we can do. Our wait list continues to grow as the affordable housing crisis deepens — particularly for adults and seniors living with mental health and substance use challenges. We urgently need to expand to support more people and amplify our impact.
To help meet growing demand, we are always looking for opportunities to work with our partners — including local municipalities, the federal and provincial governments, and generous donors in our communities — to build new locations or expand existing homes.
In our latest project, we will break ground this month to replace our current, aging home in Bradford with a larger, modern facility on nearby property that has been donated by the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury.
The new Bradford House will provide affordable housing and support services for 99 residents in self-contained units — nearly double the size of our current home. More than 30 per cent of the units will be barrier-free for residents with accessibility challenges.
The design, featuring a communal dining room and public spaces to foster a sense of community, was developed with input from experts in Indigenous health, trauma, dementia care, and harm reduction. We plan to open the doors to our new facility in early 2026.
This summer, mayors from Ontario’s 29 largest municipalities have joined together to call for solutions from the Ontario and federal governments to tackle challenges stemming from homelessness, substance use and mental health.
Expanding our capacity to support more people with complex needs is part of the solution to address the challenges of homelessness, substance use and mental health gripping communities across Ontario.
Each new unit we build with our partners represents at least one more life that will be changed for the better — one fewer person stranded in a hospital, prematurely admitted to long-term care or trying to survive on the streets.
Heather McDonald is CEO of LOFT, one of the largest community service providers in Ontario, supporting people facing a combination of mental and physical health challenges, addiction issues, poverty, and/or homelessness.
