This is not happening. And not enough new supportive housing is being built, even though we know that this is key to a successful strategy for reducing homelessness. More people are turning to emergency shelters. The fastest growing group of shelter users is now two-parent families with children. The rise in the number of children staying in shelters is astonishing - up from 2,700 in 1988 to 6,000 in 1998.
Families tend to stay for longer periods in shelters.
This is harmful to children's development, disrupting the family's social and school life. There remains a lack of community-based mental health supports to help people who have been discharged from institutions. Although we do not have conclusive information, accounts from tenant and community legal agencies indicate a rise in evictions since the Tenant Protection Act was introduced in 1998. All of these factors are compounded by low rental vacancy rates, especially among affordable units, and the lack of affordable private rental housing production. Some positive steps have been taken.