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The process mapping initiative focussed on the interrelationships among health, housing, and social service providers in British Columbia’s Capital Region as they grappled with the challenge of finding stable housing for homeless and near-homeless people. In 2016, 1,470 people were homeless in the Capital Region.

There were two main outcomes of the process mapping project:

  • A map depicting the ideal process from homelessness to stable housing, annotated with gaps, inefficiencies, bottlenecks and barriers to achieve stable housing; and
  • A report describing the shortcomings and challenges of the then-current process, together with recommendations for improving the process. There is also a commentary on how the current system is — or is not — meeting the five principles of “Housing First”.

The process mapping project involved consultation with people with lived experience of homelessness, as well as service provider stakeholders. There were four components of the project.

  1. Research into comparable process mapping approaches and outcomes for undertaking client assessments related to housing placement; assessment of data from local housing providers, BC Housing and the Point in Time 2016 homelessness counts for Greater Victoria and Salt Spring Island; and a review of private rental market conditions.
  2. Interviews with individuals who had experience with homelessness, including people of different genders, ages, disabilities, ethnicity, and length of time being homeless or unstably housed.
  3. Focus groups, including downtown front-line workers, health service providers, community and social service providers and advocates, non-market housing providers, and community advocates.
  4. Process mapping collaborative workshop, which brought together almost 100 people to work together to identify the gaps, inefficiencies, bottlenecks and barriers in facilitating homeless and unstably housed people through to stable housing with the appropriate supports to meet their needs, and, ideally, to living independently in market housing.

PROJECT TEAM:

Linda Allen
Brenda McBain
Shelley Gadsden Palmer