Emergency shelters have always offered temporary shelter and food for people who have no place to call home. As a key element in the strategy to break the cycle of homelessness, the Province has increased annual funding for the Emergency Shelter Program from $10 million in 2001 to $58 million, and developed a new program framework to strengthen the emergency shelter system and its ability to help people transition from life on the streets.

Now most shelters are able to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provide three meals a day. Many seasonal shelters beds have also been converted to year-round ones. This enables shelters to connect individuals with local support services and act as a “gateway” to more stable forms of housing. Between April 2009 and November 2009, provincially funded shelters helped nearly 3,400 people secure housing.

The Emergency Shelter Program (ESP) provides funding to homeless shelters and drop-in centres that help reconnect people who are homeless to housing and support services in addition to offering temporary shelter, food and other services. More than 1,600 shelter beds are available year-round across the province, an increase from approximately 850 beds in 2001, and the program can fund up to an additional 1,200 temporary beds during extreme winter conditions.