Investing in Innovative Solutions for Vulnerable Canadians

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. The COVID-19 crisis has made it clear that access to affordable housing and supports is key to Canada’s recovery, as Canadians across the country are dealing with the devastating impacts of rising levels of homelessness and housing need.

That is why the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), announced $2.5 million in funding over three years to support HelpSeeker, a digital application that matches Canadians in need with essential social services and supports in their local community.

This partnership with HelpSeeker is a result of CMHC’s work to incubate new, innovative ideas, and accelerate or scale solutions that address our country’s most pressing housing issues.

Launched in 2018, HelpSeeker currently serves over 200 municipalities in Western Canada and the Greater Toronto Area, connecting Canadians experiencing or at risk of homelessness with more than 200,000 local social services. With funding support from CMHC, HelpSeeker will scale from over 200 communities it currently serves to 5,000 nationally.

Quotes:

“Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Through our government’s National Housing Strategy, we are investing in innovative approaches to housing that will help Canadians get the support they need. We are proud to support startups like HelpSeeker, who provide innovative solutions as we work to provide safe and affordable housing for all Canadians.”

“Innovation is a key pillar of our government’s National Housing Strategy. The work HelpSeeker is doing in making housing and other social supports easier to access for those who are the most at risk is incredibly important. Our government is committed to finding unique and new solutions to the housing challenges that we face.”

“Canada’s complex social issues require innovative approaches leveraging new thinking and new technologies. This federal investment will help us solve the key challenge that people looking for support don’t have an easy way of finding and connecting to help, which is essential to preventing homelessness in the first place. Canada’s rich social safety net encompasses over 250,000 diverse services; our role is to maximize access to the right service, at the right time, in every community.”

Quick facts:

• HelpSeeker has previously received funding support from a National Housing Strategy Solutions Lab to implement and improve the services it provides. The goal of the National Housing Strategy’s Solution Labs Initiative is to develop world-leading solutions to housing problems.
• Employment and Social Development Canada provided over $100,000 in funding to HelpSeeker in 2019 to pilot a Systems Planning Intelligence Tool, including testing with communities.
• Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a 10-year, $70+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home — this includes more than $12 billion committed through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement.

Associated links:

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.

HelpSeeker is a Canadian social technology and innovation startup focused on accelerating the digital transformation of the social safety net to maximize its equitable outcomes. To learn more, please visit our corporate website www.HelpSeeker.co, our online directory of social services at www.HelpSeeker.org. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Download our service navigation app on Google Play Store or Apple.

Media contacts:

Mikaela Harrison
Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
mikaela.harrison@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Brie Martin
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
bmartin@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Valerie Sergienko
HelpSeeker
valerie@helpseeker.org