Kenora District achieves Reaching Home Coordinated Access

Tim Brody - Editor

The Kenora District has achieved Reaching Home Coordinated Access through its strategies and local effort to end chronic homelessness. In a joint press release issued on May 9 with The Municipalities of Sioux Lookout and Red Lake, The Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) said this designation includes all municipalities within the Kenora District. The KDSB acts as the community entity through the Federal Governments ‘Reaching Home Program- Designated Community Expansion’.
KDSB explained that, “Coordinated Access is the process by which individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness are directed to local community-level supports where trained staff utilize a common assessment tool to evaluate the individual or family’s depth of need, prioritize them for housing support services in addition to matching them to available housing focused interventions. Coordinated Access also includes a by-name list, a comprehensive list of every person experiencing homelessness in a community.”
“Coordinated Access provides vital real-time, person-specific data concerning homelessness in our communities. This system also ensures a streamlined and standardized process for those accessed in each of our communities. Coordinated access will greatly assist Kenora, Red Lake, and Sioux Lookout, where emergency shelters are located in the Kenora District. I want to thank the team that worked diligently to ensure the Kenora District achieved this milestone,” stated Henry Wall, Chief Administrative Officer of the KDSB.
“This is an important achievement for KDSB and for Sioux Lookout. We are grateful to KDSB staff for their work to make this happen, and more importantly, it is tremendously beneficial for those suffering from homelessness and under-housing in our community. It is encouraging to see that the federal government is making investments, grounded in evidence-based practices, that will result in wrap-around supports for some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” said Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance.
“We are very pleased that our municipality has the opportunity to be involved in this very important initiative.  Coordinated Access will reduce complicated processes for those in crisis by streamlining the steps needed to access community resources.  The Municipality of Red Lake fully supports this process as a means of providing a sustainable solution to preventing and reducing homelessness,” said Red Lake Mayor Fred Mota.
KDSB informed that to achieve Reaching Home Coordinated Access, the Kenora District scored 7/7 on their Coordinated Access Scorecard, completion of the Provider Participation Tool, and completion of the Coordinated Access Documents Checklist through the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. The Kenora District is the 35th community in Canada to confirm this milestone.