In 1998, the TDRC was successful in getting Toronto City Council to endorse an Emergency Declaration of Homelessness as both a city-wide and national disaster. In the years since the declaration, sustained advocacy efforts by the TDRC and its allies have led to significant responses by the federal government. These include the development of a federal Homelessness Strategy in 1999 ($753 million for services and temporary shelter over three years), and the establishment of the Affordable Housing Agreement in November 2001, a federal-territorial-provincial matching fund providing $680 million for affordable housing over five years. The latter initiative provides the first federal money for affordable housing since 1993.

Much remains to be done to ensure that all Canadians in need have access to affordable housing. The new funding initiatives, while significant, fall far short of the $4 billion benchmark set by the TDRC, and a number of jurisdictions have taken advantage of loopholes in the Affordable Housing Agreement and refused to commit matching provincial or territorial dollars. While the TDRC has not, as yet, been entirely successful in achieving its objectives, its education, coalition building and advocacy efforts have had a major impact on building positive momentum for more funding and a stronger housing program.

Implications for Practice

The TDRC's effort to increase funding for social housing has a number of features shared by effective advocacy initiatives including:

the development of clear, understandable recommendations in response to a complex social problem (the one percent solution)
an appropriate mix of advocacy tactics, including the use of 'high profile' tactics, such as demonstrations and rallies to pressure decision makers to follow through on the recommendations conveyed to them through medium and low profile tactics, such as deputations
building a coalition that stimulated debate about the problem in various venues
the use of credible spokespersons with lived experience in dealing with the health impacts of homelessness
developing a statement/resolution that can be endorsed by key decision making bodies (i.e., Toronto City Council's Emergency Declaration on Homelessness)