CALL FOR PROPOSALS APPLICATION GUIDE - REACHING HOME: CANADA'S HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY - Vancity ...
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS
APPLICATION GUIDE
REACHING HOME: CANADA’S
HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY
GREATER VANCOUVER DESIGNATED COMMUNITY
APRIL 1, 2020 – MARCH 31, 2022
Application Deadline:
January 30, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Table of Contents
Overview of the Reaching Home Program ......................................................................................................... 3
Greater Vancouver Community Plan and Investment Allocation 2019-2024....................................................... 4
Summary of Call for Proposals ........................................................................................................................... 6
Eligibility Criteria ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Funding Parameters .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Eligible Activities and Expenses by Investment Area ........................................................................................ 10
1. Services Category .................................................................................................................................... 10
Services Investment Area 1: Housing Services.................................................................................................. 11
Services Investment Area 2: Prevention and Shelter Diversion......................................................................... 12
Services Investment Area 3: Client Support Services ........................................................................................ 13
2. Capital Investment Category (Call for Proposals will be issued in January 2020) ....................................... 16
3. Coordination of Resources and Data Collection ........................................................................................ 16
Key Dates, Evaluation, and Information Sessions ............................................................................................. 18
Proposal Evaluation Criteria............................................................................................................................. 18
Key Dates and Evaluation Process .................................................................................................................... 18
Information Sessions ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Appendices...................................................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix A – Definitions ................................................................................................................................. 21
Appendix B – Reaching Home Roles, Responsibilities and Governance ............................................................. 23
Appendix C - Getting Started with Survey Monkey Apply ................................................................................. 25
Appendix D – Sustainability/Exit/Wind Down Checklist for Services Projects.................................................... 27
Appendix E – Submission Requirements .......................................................................................................... 28
2
Overview of the Reaching Home Program
Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy (RH) is the redesigned federal homelessness program which
replaced the Homelessness Partnering Strategy on April 1, 2019. Reaching Home continues to be a community-
based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to
urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities across Canada to help them address their local homelessness
needs and ensure Canadians maintain safe, stable and affordable housing.
Reaching Home supports the goals of the National Housing Strategy, in particular, to support the most
vulnerable Canadians in maintaining safe, stable and affordable housing and to reduce chronic homelessness
nationally by 50 percent by 2027-2028.
With a five-year program period from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2024, Reaching Home will work with
communities to shift towards a more coordinated and systems-based approach to homelessness and to
establish and achieve community-wide outcomes.
For further information and to review the Reaching Home directives, please visit this page.
Designated Communities Funding Stream
The Designated Communities Funding stream provides long-term stable funding to specific urban communities
across Canada that face significant issues with homelessness. Greater Vancouver is one of the communities
receiving funding under the Designated Communities funding stream. As such, it must adopt an outcomes-
based approach and implement coordinated access.
Under the Reaching Home Designated Communities program, funding is delivered through a third-party delivery
model known as the Community Entity (CE) model. Under this model, Canada entrusts a community organization
with the responsibility to select and manage RH projects in their community. A Community Entity takes
responsibility for implementation of the Community Plan. Under RH, all Designated Communities must have a
Community Advisory Board (CAB) in place to set the direction for addressing homelessness in a community.
For more information regarding governance, roles and responsibilities, please see Appendix B
3
Greater Vancouver RH Community Plan and Investment Allocation 2019-2024
Under the Designated Communities Funding stream, each community must complete a Community Plan
outlining investment priorities and activities for the allocation of Reaching Home funds; it must also describe
how the community will move forward with the development of a Coordinated Access System. In completing
the Community Plan, the CE and CAB, in partnership with the Council of Community Homelessness Tables, the
Indigenous CE, and Home Front, engaged a broad group of stakeholders to gather feedback on needs and gaps
in the region, and how Reaching Home funds might best be allocated to prevent and reduce homelessness, and
contribute to the following community-level outcomes defined by Reaching Home:
• Reduce chronic homelessness in the community (specifically, by 50% by 2027-2028)
• Reduce homelessness in the community overall, and for specific populations (Indigenous homelessness
is a priority)
• Reduce new inflows into homelessness; and
• Reduce returns to homelessness.
This CFP seeks to support the achievement of these outcomes. As such, applicants must demonstrate how a
proposed project will contribute to meeting one or more of the above outcomes.
Investment Areas
Reaching Home has outlined five key investment areas:
1. Housing Services
2. Prevention and Shelter Diversion
3. Support Services
4. Capital Investments
5. Coordination of Resources and Data Collection
While the Community Plan and the Reaching Home Directives outline five individual investment areas, for the
purposes of this CFP, these five areas have been grouped into three distinct funding categories:
1. Services (which encompasses Housing Services, Prevention and Shelter Diversion, and Support Services)
2. Capital Investments (call for proposals to follow in January 2020)
3. Coordination of Resources and Data Collection
4
Total Reaching Home Funding Available
The total Reaching Home funding available in the Greater Vancouver Designated Community for projects over
five fiscal years, from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2024, is just under $60 million. This includes funds of $10.6
million already allocated in the 2019-20 transition year. Based on needs and priorities identified through the
community planning process, the CAB has approved the following investment allocation over the remaining five
years:
Funding Allocations in All Five Investment Areas (Including Current 2019-20 Transition Year)
2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Total
Transition year
Housing Services $5,324,663 $3,572,063 $3,646,515 $3,749,342 $3,854,464 $20,147,046
Prevention and $1,121,624 $2,857,650 $2,945,262 $2,978,449 $3,013,490 $12,916,475
Shelter Diversion
Support Services $2,261,856 $2,381,375 $2,419,322 $2,487,881 $2,557,962 $12,108,397
SUBTOTAL SERVICE $8,708,143 $8,811,088 $9,011,099 $9,215,673 $9,425,916 $45,171,919
Capital Investments $1,056,500 $1,309,756 $2,980,325 $2,382,759 $2,137,475 $9,866,816
Coordination $918,633 $595,344 $701,253 $1,016,177 $1,016,177 $4,247,584
Resources/Data
TOTAL $10,683,276 $10,716,188 $12,692,677 $12,614,609 $12,579,568 $59,286,318
Reducing Indigenous homelessness in the region is both a priority brought forward by the community as well as
the Reaching Home Program. The Greater Vancouver CAB is committed to working closely with the Indigenous
CE and Steering Committee to address the shared priority of reducing and preventing Indigenous homelessness,
given the over-representation of Indigenous people in the homelessness population.
This includes striving for an allocation of RH funds to Indigenous organizations and initiatives serving Indigenous
populations - across both the RH Indigenous funding stream and the RH Greater Vancouver Designated
Community funding stream - that more closely reflects the portion and distribution of the homeless population
in the Greater Vancouver region that is Indigenous.
For further information, you can find our community plan on the Reaching Home CFP webpage by clicking here.
5
Summary of Call for Proposals
The Interim CE, Vancity Community Foundation, in partnership with the CAB for the Greater Vancouver Region,
invites applications in response to this Call for Proposals (CFP), under the Designated Communities funding
stream, to meet the priorities set out in the 2019-2024 Community Plan. While the Reaching Home Program
and Community Plan are for a five-year period, please note the following under this CFP:
Funding Period: April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022
Funding Categories: Services and Coordination of Resources and Data Collection
Funding Amounts: $17,822,187 (2020-2022) for Services
$500,000 (2020-2022) for Coordination of Resources and Data Collection
*A Call for Proposals for Capital projects will be issued in January 2020*
Please note: The total number of projects funded and the amount of funding per project will be determined
based on review by the RFP Review Committee, the CAB and the CE, pending due diligence of proposals received.
Further, the CE is under no obligation to approve any application through this process. Funding values may be
adjusted during the next four years due to changing community priorities and needs.
Eligibility Criteria
In addition to the below criteria, applicants must disclose any debt owing to the Government of Canada; if a
debt is owed, a debt repayment plan must be in place in order to be eligible to apply for Reaching Home funding.
Prior to being able to apply, applicants will be required to answer an eligibility question confirming that a
repayment plan is in place for any debt owed to the Government of Canada.
Eligible Recipients
✓ Not-for-profit organizations
✓ For-profit organizations (see “for-profit eligibility” below)
✓ Municipalities
✓ Indigenous organizations (Indigenous organizations may include, but are not limited to, incorporated
for-profit and not-for-profit Indigenous controlled organizations, Indigenous controlled unincorporated
associations, Indian Act Bands, Tribal Councils and Indigenous self-government entities); and
✓ Public health and educational institutions
For-Profit Eligibility
For-profit organizations may be eligible for funding provided that the nature and intent of the activity is non-
commercial; not intended to generate profit; based on fair market value; in support of program priorities and
objectives; and in line with the community plan (or with identified local need where community plans are not
required). As per the directive on Transfer Payments, contributions may only be made to for-profit organizations
if one or more of the following situations is true:
✓ the contribution is less than $100,000, and the administrative burden of repayable contributions is not
justified;
✓ the benefits from the contribution accrue broadly rather than to the recipient;
✓ the primary aim is income support and income stabilization for individuals;
6✓ the contribution is made with the primary aim of furthering basic research and development, including
a payment made through a granting council or other government entity whose mandate is to promote
research and development;
✓ the recipient is an Indigenous-controlled business whose articles of incorporation do not permit
dividends to be paid or distributed to shareholders; and,
✓ the contribution is in support of a project funded under an international agreement that is restrictive
for recoveries
Eligible Regions
Projects must take place within the Greater Vancouver region within municipalities and districts indicated in the
map below.
Funding Parameters
Requests for Reaching Home funds in the Greater Vancouver region are considered only through the CFP
process. The following parameters apply to all applicants.
Funding Period
This funding call is for a two year period from April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022, with the possibility of renewal for
(up to) the remainder of the two years of the program, dependant upon factors such as project
results/performance, Community Plan priorities, funds available and changes resulting from implementation of
a Coordinated Access System. Renewals will be approved by the CAB through a fair and transparent process.
Indigenous Homelessness and Service and Housing Provision
Reducing Indigenous homelessness in the region is both a priority brought forward by the community as well as
the Reaching Home Program. The Greater Vancouver CAB and CE are committed to supporting Indigenous
organizations serving Indigenous people and to ensuring that Indigenous individuals have access to culturally
appropriate services and housing choices. If an application from a non-Indigenous organization indicates that it
7seeks to serve Indigenous clients, the applicant will be required to describe and demonstrate how it will provide
culturally appropriate services.
Proposals will be evaluated based upon the following elements:
• The applicant demonstrates formalized partnerships with an Indigenous organization in service delivery
• The project and/or organization has Indigenous employees and/or Indigenous representation on its Board
of Directors or other committees or working groups and can demonstrate cultural competency in working
with Indigenous populations
• There are established relationships or other partnerships with Indigenous serving organizations and
stakeholders
• The project’s service delivery activities and budget integrate culturally appropriate elements
Coordinated Access System
A key goal of the Reaching Home Program is the achievement of a more coordinated and systems-based
approach to addressing homelessness. Designated Communities are required to develop and implement a
Coordinated Access System in their regions by April 1, 2022. Once in place, recipients of Reaching Home funding
will be required to participate in a Coordinated Access System. For further information on coordinated access,
please visit the directives by clicking here.
Multiple Submissions
There is no limit to the number of proposals that one applicant may submit, however, each project must have its
own application and is judged on its own merit. As such, individual projects should not be dependent on one
another for success. Further, an applicant may only apply for one funding category per application – each funding
category requires its own application form.
Example 1: Applicant A would like to apply for funding for its housing outreach program (services)
and would also like funding to conduct research relating to housing availability in the region. The
applicant would submit two individual applications: one for “Services” and one for “Coordination of
Resources and Data Collection”.
Example 2: Applicant B runs a housing program for youth. This program offers various services to
meet an individual’s needs, from placing clients experiencing homelessness into housing (housing
services), to crisis intervention to prevent youth from losing their housing (prevention and shelter
diversion) and providing supports along the way to assist individuals in meeting their social,
vocational, and financial needs (support services). In this case, while the applicant is providing all
three services, only one application is required as these services are all in the same category and
relate to the same project.
“Stacking” Limit
Where possible and appropriate, the costs of an eligible activity will be shared with the recipient and/or the
government and/or the private sector. However, where the sharing of costs with the recipient and private sector
is not feasible, total government funding (federal, provincial/territorial and municipal funding for the same
eligible expenditures) must not exceed 100% of eligible expenditures.
Community Contributions
Communities are required to leverage one dollar from other partners for every dollar of Designated
Communities stream funding to meet the cost-matching requirement of Reaching Home. Proposals that
leverage existing community resources and funds are preferred. Reaching Home funding is not intended as core
funding for any program or organization. The use of supplementary matching funding /community contributions
through other sources is encouraged. These contributions can include cash or in-kind contributions, such as staff
8secondments or partnerships to add service value to the program. The applicant must indicate the project’s
funding partners, confirming the nature and dollar value of financial or in-kind, support on the “Budget and
Partnership Template”. Further details can be found in the Submission Requirements section of the guide
Joint Submissions
Joint submissions, partnerships and coalitions are encouraged and if awarded funding, require that a single party
take responsibility for the contractual relationship with the Greater Vancouver Designated Stream CE as set out
in the Contribution Agreement. This arrangement must be defined in the application form and indicated using
the “Budget and Partnership Template”. Further details can be found in the Submission Requirements section
of the Guide. Any Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or other similar documents that are in place may be
submitted with the application and will be required upon due diligence should the project be recommended.
No Guarantee of Funding
The total number of projects funded and the amount of funding per project will be determined based on review
by the RFP Review Committee, the CAB and the CE, pending due diligence of proposals received. Further, the
CE is under no obligation to approve any application through this process.
9Eligible Activities by Investment Area
In this section, you will find detailed information relating to the funds available, objectives, and eligible activities
and expenses in each of the investment areas under this CFP. This current Call for Proposals includes two funding
categories: 1) Services and 2) Coordination of Resources and Data Collection. A call for proposals for capital
projects will be issued in January 2020.
1. Services Category
The Services category includes three investment areas: 1) Housing Services 2) Prevention and Shelter Diversion
and 3) Client Support Services. Recognizing that one individual project may often engage in activities described
in all three investment areas, one single funding application under the Services category may be submitted to
include activities and expenses from up to all three of the below investment areas, if included in the same
project.
Eligible Project Period and Funds Available
Funds are available for two fiscal years for the period of April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022, with the possibility of
funding renewal as described in the Funding Parameters section of this Guide. Total Funding available for
Services in the RFP funding period: $8,811,088 from 2020 – 2021, and $9,011,099 from 2021 – 2022.
HOUSING FIRST UNDER REACHING HOME
Reaching Home has removed specific funding targets for Housing First projects allowing communities more
flexibility in how the Housing First approach might be used for populations, beyond those experiencing chronic
homelessness, and to use other innovative approaches to address local needs. However, the goal of addressing
chronic homelessness remains as described in the community level outcome of reducing chronic homelessness
by 50% by 2027-2028.
Adhering to Housing First principles remains the preferred approach to housing chronically
homeless individuals.
If an application indicates that a project will be serving chronically homeless individuals, the proposal must
clearly demonstrate the applicant’s ability to apply Housing First principles. Further, the application must
describe the organization’s ability to operationalize a Housing First model. For more information on housing
first, please visit the Homeless Hub: https://www.homelesshub.ca/solutions/housing-accommodation-and-
supports/housing-first
10Services Investment Area 1: Housing Services
Community Level Outcomes Addressed
Chronic Homelessness is Reduced Homelessness in General is Returns to Homelessness are
(by 50% by 2028) Reduced Reduced
The Housing Services investment area aims to move individuals and families from an unstable housing situation
to one that is more stable. It also aims to contribute to the following objectives:
✓ Identify and secure housing that suits an individual’s or family’s needs and preferences
✓ Facilitate smooth transition into housing through support for set-up of housing units
✓ Address financial gaps between income and rental costs, enabling improved access to housing through
provision of short-term financial assistance
Eligible housing types include transitional housing, permanent supportive housing (place based or scattered
site), social or market housing; and Indigenous housing options [please see Appendix A for definitions of
housing types].
Eligible Activities and Expenses
Housing Placement
Activities could include:
✓ Determining an individual’s or family’s preferences and needs for housing and type of supports
✓ Securing housing for individuals and families by working with private and public local real estate, landlord
associations, home communities (for example, First Nation band, Inuit community, Métis settlement), to
identify available housing units
✓ Time-limited rental assistance in the context of a rapid rehousing project. While at the discretion of the
community to establish parameters for the rental assistance, rapid rehousing usually consists of 3 to 6
months of support
✓ Providing landlord-tenant services for an individual or family that was placed into housing, which includes
providing landlord mediation and training on roles and responsibilities of tenants and landlords
✓ Re-housing (if required)
Emergency Housing Funding
Within parameters that are established by the community, this includes:
✓ Provision of funding to help cover housing costs in the short term while awaiting access to longer-term
housing support or supplements including the Canadian Housing Benefit or benefits from provincial,
territorial or municipal programs
Housing Set-up
✓ Costs and activities associated with setting up a housing unit such as: paying for insurance, damage deposit,
first and last months' rent, maintenance (for example, painting), moving, furniture, kitchen, basic groceries
and supplies at move-in, etc.
✓ Available to all individuals and families, not just those in receipt of rental assistance or Emergency Housing
Funding
✓ Note that: If a provincial social assistance or other program offers first and last month's rent or damage
deposits, this funding should be exhausted first before Reaching Home funding is used for these purposes
11Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Emergency Housing funding while the individual or family is supported by the provincial, territorial or
municipal welfare and rent supplement programs; and
Level of funding provided for Emergency Housing Funding must not exceed amount of financial assistance
provided by provincial, territorial or municipal rent supplement program
Services Investment Area 2: Prevention and Shelter Diversion
Community Level Outcomes Addressed
Homelessness in General is Reduced New Inflows into Homelessness are Reduced
Prevention includes activities aimed at preventing new incidences of homelessness by supporting individuals
and families at imminent risk of homelessness before a crisis occurs. This includes:
✓ supporting individuals and families who are currently housed but at-risk of losing their housing - including
preventing eviction due to issues such as rent or utility arrears, landlord disputes, and other personal crisis
or issues through provision of financial and non- financial support
✓ preventing individuals who are being discharged from public systems (for example, health, corrections, and
child welfare) from becoming homeless, ensuring that they can secure safe and appropriate housing prior
to discharge or exit from care
Populations at imminent risk of homelessness are defined as individuals or families whose current housing
situation will end in the near future (for example, within 2 months) and for whom no subsequent residence has
been established.
Shelter diversion is a tool used to prevent the use of emergency shelters by providing individualized supports
when families and individuals are seeking to enter the emergency shelter system. Shelter diversion programs
help individuals and families seeking shelter to explore safe and appropriate alternate housing arrangements
and, if necessary, connect them with services and financial assistance to help them find secure housing.
Shelter diversion is different from other permanent housing-targeted interventions because of the point in time
in which the intervention occurs. Shelter diversion focuses on people as they are seeking entry into shelters,
while prevention focuses on people at risk of homelessness. However, many of the same initiatives may be
employed with shelter diversion as with prevention.
Eligible Activities and Expenses
✓ Discharge planning services for individuals being released from public systems (for example, health,
corrections, and child welfare)
✓ Help obtaining or retaining housing, including shared housing
✓ Landlord liaison and intervention to prevent eviction and preserve tenancy
✓ Advice on budgeting, credit counseling and debt consolidation
✓ Legal advice, advocacy and legal representation in order to avert eviction
✓ Emergency assistance to help avert eviction (for example, food, clothing, transportation vouchers,
cleaning/repair of damage to a rental unit)
✓ Moving costs; and
✓ Short-term financial assistance to help avert eviction or loss of housing with rent, rental arrears, and
utility deposits or payments
12Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Provision or payment for student housing for students who are not at imminent risk of homelessness;
and
Supports for low-income individuals or families who are not at imminent risk of homelessness
Services Investment Area 3: Client Support Services
Community Level Outcomes Addressed
Chronic Homelessness is Homelessness in General is New Inflows into Returns to Homelessness
Reduced Reduced Homelessness are Reduced are Reduced
l
Outcomes Addressed
Through support services, an individual receives personalized services aimed at meeting the individual’s needs
and empowering them to meet their goals. Ultimately, individuals achieve greater stability and housing
sustainability. This investment area aims to:
✓ Ensure those housed successfully maintain housing and do not re-enter homelessness
✓ Enhance economic resilience through connections to income, employment and education assistance
✓ Enhance social inclusion and community integration
Client support services include individualized services to help improve integration and connectedness to support
structures, such as the provision of basic needs and treatment services. They may also include services to
support the economic, social and cultural integration of individuals and families.
Support Services are divided into four categories: Basic needs, clinical and treatment services, economic
integration services, and social and community integration services.
Basic Needs
Funding for basic needs services support outcomes that contribute to a reduction in homelessness. For example,
short-term food and emergency shelter assistance are eligible activities as a means to assist homeless individuals
to obtain placement in more stable housing.
Eligible Activities and Expenses
✓ Essential services related to the provision of emergency shelter beds, food and shelter, including shower
and laundry facilities, food banks, soup kitchens, community kitchens and drop-in centres
✓ Life skills development (for example budgeting, cooking)
✓ Longer-term food programs that are part of another eligible activity (for example, activities that assist
with community reintegration)
✓ Culturally relevant supports for Indigenous people (for example, cultural ceremonies, traditional
supports and activities with the goal of increasing cultural connections and an individual’s sense of
belonging in a community)
✓ Groceries, personal hygiene and supplies
✓ Clothing, footwear and blankets
✓ Storage for belongings (up to 3 months)
✓ Access to traditional foods and medicines
✓ Repair or replacement of eyeglasses (if not otherwise covered through medical services)
✓ Disability supports (for example: mobility and other assistive devices if not otherwise covered through
medical services)
✓ Personal identification
13✓ Access to technology (for example: phones, community voice mail, safe apps, computers, etc.) in a
community setting (for example in a resource or drop-in centre)
✓ Bus or public transit tickets related to integration activities (for example, job search/interviews,
appointments/reconnecting to family)
✓ Transportation to home community (mileage eligibility to be determined by community)
Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Delivery of basic needs services without any demonstrated outreach or intervention to improve housing
stability or social/economic integration as part of the project activities
Clinical and Treatment Services
Clinical and treatment services are activities that seek to improve the physical, emotional and psychological
health and well-being of individuals and families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness.
Eligible Activities and Expenses
✓ Brokering and navigating access to clinical, health and treatment services (includes mental health and
addictions support) through case management, including through an Intensive Case Management team
✓ Partnership development, liaison and integration to bring together services to support the needs of
individuals or families or to establish case management teams where none exists
✓ Delivery of harm reduction activities that seek to reduce risk and connect individuals and families with
key health and social services. These activities may include, for instance:
o storage, distribution and provision of materials and/or supplies (for example, needles),
o prevention interventions (for example, targeted programming to prevent substance abuse in
homeless youth and/or youth at-risk of homelessness; managed alcohol programs, connecting
individuals to harm reduction services)
✓ Professional fees for services provided in support of Indigenous individuals and families (for example
services provided by Indigenous Elders or traditional healers). The value of professional fees, gifts or
honoraria must be proportional to the service rendered and should not exceed the reasonable and
customary amount for each service; and
✓ Supports to access traditional or culturally sensitive healing services (for example, healing circles, sweat
lodge ceremonies, access to traditional medicines) that are not offered through provincial programming.
Eligibility is not based on service location (for example: may be local or require travel to a non-local
Indigenous community)
Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Providing general health and medical services (for example, doctors, nurses and other medical
professional salaries), mental health or addictions support services (for example, counselling, treatment,
and hospitalization) that are already provided through provincial/territorial areas of responsibility
Health and medical services components of an Assertive Community Treatment team. An ACT team
provides access to services that are the responsibility of provinces and territories and cannot be funded
under Reaching Home (for example, psychiatrist, doctor, nurse, substance abuse specialist). However,
assisting with project coordination of an Assertive Community Treatment team, and linking individuals
and families to existing Assertive Community Treatment teams is eligible
Economic Integration Services
Economic integration services seek to increase an individual’s financial self-sufficiency and enhance economic
resilience through connections to income, employment and education assistance. This is achieved through
activities such as:
• connecting an individual to any income benefits they may be entitled to
14• accessing employment or pre-employment services and
• supporting participation in education or training programs
Eligible Activities and Expenses
✓ Income assistance: services directed towards individuals and families to help them access income
benefits (for example, provincial/territorial social assistance, child benefits, disability benefits, veterans
allowance, old age security, or employment insurance)
✓ Employment assistance: pre- and post-employment services (for example, job search assistance,
interview preparation) that bridge individuals and families to the labour market and assist them to
maintain employment and build self-sufficiency
✓ Education and Training assistance: services to support essential skills development (for example,
reading, document use, numeracy, writing, oral communication, working with others, thinking,
computer use and continuous learning), services to connect individuals and families to education and
training programs and services to support the successful participation in these programs (for example,
bus passes, clothing or equipment, food and non-alcoholic beverages, internet access for the duration
of the program)
Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Employment activities normally delivered by other federal, provincial or territorial labour market
programs
Job wages for individuals participating in an education, training, or pre-employment program
Salary for a full-time teacher to provide an alternative to provincial or territorial education
Tuition
Workplace skills development; and
Apprenticeship grants
Social and Community Integration Services
The goal of Social and Community Integration services is to enhance the social inclusion and community
integration of homeless individuals, or individuals who have been housed, in order to maintain and improve
housing stability.
Eligible Activities and Expenses
Eligible activities and expenses include:
✓ Supports to improve social integration, for example, costs of participation or provision of
recreational/sports activities
✓ Indigenous Elder consultation, gathering and preparation of traditional foods. Establishing and
maintaining culturally relevant responses and supports to help Indigenous individuals and families (for
example, navigation of urban services including to help establish and maintain culturally relevant
support networks within an urban environment; Indigenous language and culture classes).
Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Purchase of alcoholic beverages
152. Capital Investment Category (Call for Proposals will be issued in January 2020)
Capital investments are intended to increase the capacity, or improve the quality, of facilities that address
the needs of individuals and families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, including those
that support culturally appropriate programming for Indigenous individuals and families.
A call for capital project funding will be announced in January 2020
3. Coordination of Resources and Data Collection
This investment stream aims to support the following key groups of activities, as outlined in the Reaching Home
Directives:
• Coordination of resources refers to activities that 1) enable communities to organize and deliver diverse
services in a coordinated manner and/or 2) support the implementation of the Homeless Individuals and
Families Information System (HIFIS) or the alignment of an existing Homeless Management Information
System (HIMS) with federal coordinated access requirements
• Data collection activities, which may be unrelated to the design and development of coordinated access and
a Homelessness Management Information System, that enhance understanding of local homelessness
issues and help support decision-making and longer-term planning
While the above describes activities that do relate to coordinated access and the implementation of a HIMS,
this CFP is NOT seeking applications related to: i) planning and development of a Coordinated Access System,
ii) development of a Homelessness Information Management System, or iii) Point in Time (Pit) Counts. These
activities will be identified and carried out through a separate contracting process. Specific activities eligible
for this CFP are described below.
16Eligible Project Period and Funds Available
Funds are available for two fiscal years for the period of April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022, with the possibility of
funding renewal as described in the Funding Parameters section of this Guide. Total funds available for this
CFP are up to $250,000 in each of the two fiscal years of the project period (total of $500,000 over two years).
Although the Directives describe more activities, this CFP is seeking applications for projects related to the
specific eligible activity areas listed below.
Eligible Activities and Expenses
This investment area includes the following types of projects and activities:
Coordination of Resources (not including projects related to the development of a Coordinated Access System)
• Initiatives aimed at improving services and system support projects that strengthen the organizational
capacity of networks, coalitions and other sector organized groups to develop more responsive, better-
integrated services and partnerships
• Projects that facilitate coordination of housing and homelessness services, system-wide strategic responses
and that foster creative new approaches to addressing issues faced by people who are homeless or at risk
of homelessness
• Initiatives informing the public and soliciting feedback on activities intended to reduce and prevent
homelessness
Data collection and analysis (unrelated to the design and development of coordinated access and a
Homelessness Management Information System)
• Collection of data to demonstrate accountability, support decision-making and develop an understanding
of the homelessness situation
• Activities intended to build partnerships for data collection and analysis
• Gathering, sharing and disseminating information with the Community Advisory Board and other interest
parties
• Technical support for data collection, analysis and management
• Purchase of equipment to collect and compile data
Ineligible Activities and Expenses
Local research other than the data collection activities described under “eligible activities; and
Information gathered or refocused primarily for the purpose of advocacy, public education or awareness
17Key Dates, Evaluation, and Information Sessions
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated on the following key criteria. More detailed information on evaluation
criteria will be provided at the Information Sessions and posted on the Survey Monkey Application platform
at a later date.
• Strategic Alignment and Outcomes: alignment with and potential contribution to Reaching Home
Community Level Outcomes and Community Plan Priorities, including addressing Indigenous
homelessness
• Project Design and Effectiveness: Project addresses an identified need and project methodology/design
is clearly articulated and appropriate for the target population or issue and demonstrates potential to
achieve outcomes
• Community Engagement and Partnerships: demonstration of involvement of people with lived and
living experience of homelessness and risk of homelessness, and/or other relevant homelessness service
providers or community organizations in the development and delivery of the project
• Organizational Capacity: demonstration that the proponent organization and any partners have the
capacity (staff, resources and relationships) and experience to develop and implement the project for
the intended population to be served
• Budget & Sustainability: Proposed project has an adequate budget to achieve outcomes, other
contributions and demonstrates potential for viability and sustainability
Key Dates and Evaluation Process
Submission Deadline
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Survey Monkey Apply platform by January 30, 2020 at 12:00
pm. Proposals arriving after this time will not be accepted. If a mandatory component of the application is
missing, the applicant will be notified and will have a 24-hour grace period to respond once notified. Should the
application remain incomplete after the 24-hour period has ended, the application will be screened out and will
not be considered.
The following is a brief overview of the evaluation process and timeline:
• The CFP Closes on January 30th. CE staff review applications to ensure eligiblity and minimum application
requirements have been met. Applications are assigned to one of several Review Committees. Review
Committee’s are composed of CAB members who are not in conflict, as well as a diverse group of
stakeholders with expertise in areas directly related to housing and homelessness.
• Application Assessment: Each reviewer on the assigned committee reviews applications. Prior to being
granted access to applications, reviewers must declare any conflict of interest and sign a confidentialty
agreement. Reviewers evaluate applications independently. At the same time, CE staff conduct a technical
review of the application. The technical review includes reviewing the application to ensure completeness
18as well as ensuring elibility of applicant, activities and costs against Reaching Home program Directives,
Terms and Conditions.
• Review Team Meetings: Once all of the applications have been reviewed by the individual reviewers, the
reviewers meet as a team to discuss and finalize ranking of the proposals. Once the review team meetings
are complete, one final meeting with representatives from each of the individual reivew teams occurs. At
this meeting, the Review Committee determines its final list of recommended projects. In making its
decision, the Committee takes a holistic view of the funding distribution, considering factors such as the
location/geographic coverage of services, populations served, including Indigenous poulations and other
priority populations, (seniors, youth, women, to name a few), accuitity of clients served by region, etc.
• Approval: Once the Review Committee puts forward its final recommendation, the CE moves forward with
due diligence and advises applicants of the funding decisions.
• Due Diligence: Once applicants have been advised of the funding decisions, those recommended move
forward to due diligence. Those who were not recommended are offered the opportunity for a debrief
meeting.
• Contracting: Once the CE completes due diligence, projects move forward to contracting. At this time,
budget negotiations occur and final agreements are signed.
Information Sessions
Information sessions will be hosted by the Interim CE, Vancity Community Foundation and will provide
information relating to the requirements under this CFP. While attendance is not mandatory, it is highly
recommended that applicants attend one of the scheduled information sessions. Both Services and
Coordination of Resources and Data Collection funding categories will be discussed at each session.
Due to limited space, a maximum of two representatives per potential application may register for/attend an
information session. Please consider who will be writing the proposal, delivering the project, and who will be
responsible for expenditures and/or key decisions for the proposed project when deciding which staff should
attend.
Please register for one of the following information sessions by visiting the CFP webpage here.
If you are not able to attend an information session in person, a webinar will be hosted on January 7, 2020 and
a recording will be made available. A recorded information session will also be made available in French.
Additional details will be provided once available. Frequently asked questions from information sessions will be
posted on Survey Monkey Apply (SMA) promptly. To visit the SMA site, please click here.
CFP Information Sessions: Services and Coordination of Resources and Data Collection
December 17, 2019 9:30am – 12:00pm Surrey City Centre Library - Dr. Ambedkar Room (418)
10350 University Dr, Surrey, BC
December 17, 2019 1:00pm – 3:30pm Surrey City Centre Library - Dr. Ambedkar Room (418)
10350 University Dr, Surrey, BC
December 18, 2019 9:30am – 12:00pm 312 Main St. Vancouver – Reach and Sound Rooms
December 18, 2019 1:00pm – 3:30pm 312 Main St. Vancouver – Reach and Sound Rooms
Please go here to register for an information session
1920
Appendices
Appendix A – Definitions
The following definitions have been taken from the Reaching Home Directives – for further detail, please visit
the directives here.
Homelessness: Homelessness is the situation of an individual or family who does not have a permanent address
or residence; the living situation of an individual or family who does not have stable, permanent, appropriate
housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.
It is often the result of what are known as systemic or societal barriers, including a lack of affordable and
appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioural or physical challenges,
and/or racism and discrimination.
Indigenous Homelessness: The definition of Indigenous Homelessness was defined in 2019 by the Indigenous
Homelessness Steering Committee (IHSC) and adopted for the Reaching Home Directives: “Indigenous Peoples
who are in the state of having no home due to colonization, trauma and/or whose social, cultural, economic,
and political conditions place them in poverty. Having no home includes: those who alternate between shelter
and unsheltered, living on the street, couch surfing, using emergency shelters, living in unaffordable,
inadequate, substandard and unsafe accommodations or living without the security of tenure; anyone
regardless of age, released from facilities (such as hospitals, mental health and addiction treatment centers,
prisons, transition houses), fleeing unsafe homes as a result of abuse in all its definitions, and any youth
transitioning from all forms of care”.
Chronic Homelessness: Refers to individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness AND who meet at
least 1 of the following criteria:
✓ they have a total of at least 6 months (180 days) of homelessness over the past year
✓ they have recurrent experiences of homelessness over the past 3 years, with a cumulative duration of
at least 18 months (546 days)
Chronic homelessness includes time spent in the following contexts:
• Staying in unsheltered locations, that is public or private spaces without consent or contract, or places
not intended for permanent human habitation
• Staying in emergency shelters, including overnight shelters for people experiencing homelessness
(including those for specific populations, such as youth, families, and newcomers), shelters for people
impacted by family violence, and emergency shelters for people fleeing a natural disaster or destruction
of accommodation
• Staying temporarily with others without guarantee of continued residency or the immediate prospects
for accessing permanent housing, or short-term rental accommodations (for example, motels) without
security of tenure
It does not include situations where individuals have access to secure, permanent housing, whether subsidized
or not. The definition also does not include time spent in transitional housing or in public institutions (for
example, health and corrections), although individuals who are discharged into homelessness from transitional
housing or public institutions can be considered chronically homeless if they were experiencing chronic
homelessness upon entry to transitional housing or the public institution.
At Imminent Risk of Homelessness: Populations at imminent risk of homelessness are defined as individuals or
families whose current housing situation will end in the next 60 days and for whom no subsequent residence
has been identified. These individuals are unable to secure permanent housing because they do not have
21sufficient resources or support networks immediately available to prevent them from moving to an emergency
shelter or a public or private place not meant for human habitation.
Transitional housing: Housing intended to offer a supportive living environment for its residents, including
offering them the experience, tools, knowledge and opportunities for social and skill development to become
more independent. It is considered an intermediate step between emergency shelter and supportive housing,
and has limits on how long an individual or family can stay. Stays are typically between 3 months and 3 years.
Permanent supportive housing: Housing that combines rental or housing assistance with individualized, and
flexible support services for people with high needs related to physical or mental health, developmental
disabilities or substance use. Permanent supportive housing may be:
o placed-based: Congregate or independent permanent supportive housing units situated in 1 building
or location
o scattered-site: The provision of permanent supportive housing services in the community, delivered
through home visits or community-based agencies
Housing: Housing that is not supportive housing and that can be long-term. Includes a house, apartment or room
(including social housing) that a family or individual rents or owns. Housing may include living arrangements
with friends or family members that are expected to be long-term.
Indigenous housing options: that reflect Indigenous values, beliefs and practices (for example,
community/family living environment) and are delivered by Indigenous organizations.
22Appendix B – Reaching Home Roles, Responsibilities and Governance
The Designated Communities Funding stream provides long-term stable funding to specific urban communities
across Canada that face significant issues with homelessness. Greater Vancouver is one of the communities
receiving funding under the Designated Communities funding stream that must adopt an outcomes-based
approach and implement coordinated access.
Under the Reaching Home Designated Communities program, funding is delivered through a third-party delivery
model known as the Community Entity (CE) model. Under this model, Canada entrusts a community organization
with the responsibility to select and manage RH projects in their community. A Community Entity takes
responsibility for implementation of the Community Plan. Under RH, all Designated Communities must have a
Community Advisory Board in place to set the direction for addressing homelessness in a community.
Community Advisory Board (CAB)
Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are the local organizing committees that play a pivotal role in coordinating
efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness in a community. Under RH, all Designated Communities must have
a Community Advisory Board in place to set the direction for addressing homelessness in a community.
The CABs are expected to have a broad and inclusive representation of the community and develop an in-depth
knowledge of the key sectors and systems that affect local homelessness priorities across the community.
The CAB is responsible for the following key areas:
• Help guide the development and approval of the Community Plan;
• Assess and recommend projects for funding to the Community Entity;
• Recruit members for the CAB to ensure that the membership is representative of the community;
• Support the Community Entity in the planning and implementation of coordinated access; and
• Approve the annual Community Progress Report
The CAB is not limited to RH. Instead, it takes a broader perspective on homelessness within the community by
engaging and integrating other sectors that relate to homelessness. By playing a strategic coordination role, the
CAB is better able to maximize all homelessness efforts within a community.
In communities where both Designated and Indigenous Homelessness funding streams exist, and where there
are two different CABs, it is expected that at least one CAB seat is available for the alternate Community Entity
or CAB member to promote collaboration and alignment among priorities and ensure complementarity between
their Community Plans.
Community Entity (CE)
Under Reaching Home, funding is delivered through a third-party delivery model known as the Community Entity
model. Under this model, Canada entrusts a community organization with the responsibility to select and
manage RH projects in their community. A Community Entity takes responsibility for implementation of the
Community Plan.
Under this delivery model, all requests for funding must go through the Community Entity, which is responsible
for:
• Working with community stakeholders to oversee the development and implementation of a systems-
based approach to addressing homelessness;
• Supporting a transition to an outcomes-based approach;
• Soliciting proposals for community projects that support the Community Plan;
• Approving projects in accordance with program directives and Terms and Conditions;
• Contracting and monitoring community projects;
• Reporting on its activities and disbursement of funds;
• Collecting and sharing data and information;
23• Reporting on the results and outcomes of all funded community projects;
• Submitting an annual work plan; and
• Monitoring and reporting on the development, implementation and success of the Community Plan,
including through the annual Community Progress Report
Expectations are articulated in the funding agreement between Canada and the Community Entity.
Service Canada (SC)
Service Canada representatives support the CAB and the CE by providing guidance for planning, implementation,
information sharing, ensuring funds are invested according to RH Terms and Conditions, directives and policies,
allocation of funds, and ensuring accountability through monitoring.
24Appendix C - Getting Started with Survey Monkey Apply
If you do not already have a Survey Monkey Apply account, the first step is to Register.
1. Please visit vcf.smapply.ca and click “Register”.
2. Enter your registration information
3. You will receive a welcome message. Check the email account that you registered with and verify your email.
254. You will be taken to the Survey Monkey Apply site and will be logged in. Click on “view programs”, and then select
the green “more” button under Services or Coordination of Resources and Data Collection.
5. Check your eligibility using the green “Check Eligibility” button. You will be asked if you owe a debt to the
Government of Canada and, if yes, if there is a debt repayment plan in place.
6. Once eligibility is confirmed, you may begin your application by clicking the green “Apply” button.
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