Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

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Supportive housing

Seeking Supportive Housing: Characteristics, Needs and Outcomes of Applicants to The Access Point – Highlights

Frank Sirotich, Anna Durbin, Greg Suttor, Seong-gee Um and Lin Fang |

Supportive housing is the key to ending chronic homelessness, and provides a stable foundation for people living with mental illness or addictions. In Toronto, people apply for this housing through The Access Point, a community agency that works with housing providers. More than 14,000 people are on this waiting list. What are the characteristics of […]

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Ontario Supportive Housing Policy Brief

Greg Suttor |

Homeless Adult Seen On A City Street

Ontario has set a goal of ending chronic homelessness. A significant proportion of those who are homeless either have mental health problems, are youth or are Indigenous. Ending chronic homelessness requires action on these groups. This policy brief focuses on the 2 to 3 percent of the population that lives with a severe mental illness […]

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A Supportive Housing Strategy for Mental Health and Addictions in Ontario

Mental Health and Addictions Leadership Advisory Council’s Supportive Housing Working Group |

Supportive housing is a foundation of stability for people who live with mental illness or addictions. The combination of affordable housing and support staff enables people to live in the community, with improved health outcomes and reduced use of health and emergency services. Supportive housing is a key to achieving Ontario’s goal of ending chronic […]

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Welcome Steps on Supportive Housing and Mental Health

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Hands holding a model house made or cardboard

By Kwame McKenzie and Greg Suttor The Ontario government today announced new funding for supportive housing. Making the announcement, Eric Hoskins, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, noted that mental health matters for everyone, and that this is an integral part of health care. Besides supportive housing, the announcements included a new structured psychotherapy […]

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Supportive Housing in Ontario: Estimating the Need

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Looking up from the bottom of an apartment building

There is an estimated need of 33,000 units of supportive housing currently in Ontario. This technical report provides preliminary population-based estimates of need for housing with support for people with serious mental illness or addiction in Ontario. It has generated an estimate of the need for housing with support for mental illness and addictions. This […]

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Taking Stock of Supportive Housing for Mental Health and Addictions in Ontario

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Hands holding a model house made or cardboard

In Ontario, there is great concern about chronic homelessness and renewed attention to supportive housing for those living with mental illness or addictions. This in-depth report takes a broader look at supportive housing for these populations. We ask, what exists today and how did it come to be? What different approaches exist? What ideas and […]

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What does the federal budget do for affordable housing in Ontario?

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Apartment building

People who provide and advocate for affordable housing have been positive about the 2016 federal budget because it moves Canada in the right direction for the next two years. The budget boosts federal funding for new affordable housing to about $1.1 billion a year nationwide. If we bracket the large and much-needed amounts for First […]

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3 Steps Closer to Equitable Housing in Ontario

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Ontario took real steps this week toward helping all of Ontario’s people to be safely and adequately housed. In the revised Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy three changes stand out that will help improve housing conditions and therefore good health outcomes. There are many things LTAHS does not address, such as new affordable housing or […]

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Coming Together on Supported Housing for Mental Health and Addictions in Ontario

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It is a time of opportunity for supportive housing in Ontario. Housing and homelessness are main pillars in the government’s poverty reduction strategy. This is crucial because housing is a large factor in the social determinants of health. Whether someone’s housing is affordable, in good repair, or has the right supports or not has a […]

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Coming Together on Supported Housing in Ontario – WILABS July 2015

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On July 30, 2015 Wellesley Institute hosted an idea lab on Principles and Elements for Supported Housing in GTA. This lab was an exercise to articulate good policy approaches in a given sphere and collaborating to reach consensus. Read our lab report here: Lab Report No 1 – Principles and Elements for Supported Housing in the […]

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.