Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs
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- Main Page
- Message from the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Family Services and Housing
- ALL Aboard Report (PDF)
- ALL Aboard News Release
- Housing and Supports for People with Mental Illness (PDF)
- OpeningDOORS: Manitoba's Commitment to Persons with Disabilities (PDF)
- Contacts
- HOMEWorks! Homeless Strategy with a Focus on Mental Health Housing
- Homeless Shelters
- Emergency Homeless Shelter Standards
- The Salvation Army Project
- Cold Weather Strategy
- Homeless Outreach Team
- Project Breakaway
- Housing with Services
- Portable Housing Benefit
- Community Wellness Initiative
- Homelessness Prevention Summit
- Housing First
- The Mental Health Commission of Canada
Portable Housing Benefit
The Portable Housing Benefit (PHB) provides a rent supplement of up to $200 per month to 600 low-income individuals with mental health issues, who require additional assistance to find safe, adequate and stable housing. Participants must have an unstable housing situation that is interfering with their progress in treatment and positive participation in community life.
The PHB is intended to provide better access to the private rental market, and is accompanied by services to support a stable tenancy. Recipients will be required to accept these supports from an identified mental health service provider in order to maximize the success of their tenancy.
The PHB began in July 2008 in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson. The benefit will be expanded to other areas of the province.
The PHB is currently being administered in Winnipeg by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA). The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Winnipeg and Sara Riel Inc. will also administer the PHB, beginning in July 2009.
Outside of Winnipeg, the PHB is currently being administered by the CMHA in Thompson and Brandon, in conjunction with the Regional Health Authorities.
The PHB also includes funding for the equivalent of eight full-time support workers, to increase the capacity of mental health agencies to provide housing supports.
A portable rent supplement is used by many jurisdictions as a means to access housing and support a stable tenancy for individuals with mental health issues, and is regarded as a developing best practice.
