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The Mental Health Commission of Canada

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) Committee tabled its final report, Out of the Shadows at Last – Transforming Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction Services in Canada, with the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology in May 2006. 

The Government of Canada announced funding for the MHCC in the March 2007 budget.  The creation of the Commission was also endorsed by all provincial and territorial governments (with the exception of Québec) at a meeting of Ministers of Health in October 2005.  In February 2008, the Federal government allocated $110 million to the MHCC to find ways to help the growing number of homeless people who have a mental illness.

Winnipeg was chosen as a homelessness research site focusing on the aboriginal community.  The overall goal is to provide evidence about what services and systems could best help people across Canada who are living with a mental illness and are also homeless.  At the same time, the project will provide meaningful and practical support for hundreds of vulnerable Canadians.

The projects have been implemented in five different cities.  They are looking at the housing first and harm reduction models of intervention.  A total of 2,225 homeless people living with a mental illness will participate - 1,325 Canadians from that group will be given a place to live, and offered services to assist them over the course of the initiative.  The remaining participants will receive the regular services that are available in the test sites.

Participants have to pay a portion of their rent, and are visited at least once a week by program staff.  They will be able to choose housing within a number of different sites in a given city, including apartments and group homes

The housing first and harm reduction models are approached to ending homelessness and helping people with lived experience get back into community life.  These approaches have produced positive results in other cities where they have been implemented.  A comparison between different housing first and harm reduction approaches and “care as usual” is being studied in all cities.

The overall goal is to provide evidence about what services and systems could best help people across Canada who are living with a mental illness and are also homeless.  At the same time, the project will provide meaningful and practical support for hundreds of vulnerable Canadians.

For additional information, visit "Initiatives and Projects" on the following website: www.mentalhealthcommission.ca