Toronto’s Street Needs Assessment needs volunteers

Toronto, Mar 2 (Canadian-Media): Toronto’s Street Needs Assessment (SNA) -- a survey to help the City to improve current programs and plan for future service delivery -- will take place on the evening of April 26 and the City is seeking volunteers to assist, media reports said.  

Hundreds of volunteers, members of community agencies and City staff will would visit homeless people on streets and shelters for the fourth time to find out about the services they need to get and keep permanent housing. 

According to official reports, number of people accessing the City's emergency shelter system had  been increasing by 30-percent year over year. 

SNA results facilitate policy makers, politicians, researchers, journalists and advocates to identify the number of homeless people in Toronto and to describe who they are and how their service needs should be changed. 

All SNA results had reported that permanent housing was a requirement for homeless people but they also pointed out that the cost of housing was a barrier to ending their homelessness.

"The Street Needs Assessment gives people who are homeless a loud and clear voice in how we can help them end their homelessness," Toronto Mayor John Tory was reported to state. "It also gives the City the critical data we need to better understand how and why people are using homelessness services. The City is committed to supporting this initiative because we are all dedicated to fighting homelessness and the roots of homelessness."

John Tory: Facebook page

Reportedly for the first time City of Toronto's SNA would become a part of the federal and provincial governments' national coordinated point-in-time counts. 

Toronto's SNA results would reportedly be included in 2018 National and provincial snapshots of homelessness funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy.

In addition to being a needs assessment survey, the SNA is a point-in-time census of those using all shelters in the city (including provincially-administered Violence Against Women shelters), and those with no fixed address in health care and correctional facilities. 

The success of Toronto's homeless count and survey depends on citizen volunteers completing the surveys with people who are homeless, both those sleeping outdoors and staying in shelters and overnight drop-ins. 

"Opportunity for all is a key value to Torontonians and volunteering on April 26 gives ordinary citizens who care about homelessness in our city something concrete and useful to do. This can make a difference," Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 10 York Centre), Chair of the City's Community Development and Recreation Committee was reported to state.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​