The new Mental Health Commission of Canada, in its first such effort to take homeless people with mental illness off the streets in 5-cities officially launched its research project Monday to provide them with a safe place to live.

Called At Home / Chez Soi project, the pilot study involves 2,285-homeless people living with a mental illness in Montreal, Moncton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver.

Over the course of the 5-year study, altogether 1,325-people will be provided with social services and a place to live, while others will receive services currently available. One of the study’s goals is to find out what works well and is effective in providing services to homeless people.

Statistics show there are an estimated 300,000-homeless people in Canada, with the federal government providing $110-million in funding for five years for the project, which will also work on transition plans to ensure that no one is put back on the street at the end of the 5-year study period.

It is estimated that half of Canada’s homeless population suffers from a mental illness, a very current problem affecting many Canadians.

For the study, each city will have a particular focus, with the Moncton study looking at rural populations, including providing services in a fast-growing city with a mental health system stretched to the max.

The focus in Montreal will be on providing social housing and assisting people to return to the workplace.

In Winnipeg where 80% of the homeless population is of aboriginal descent, the needs of the urban aboriginals will be highlighted.

Vancouver will target people with a recurring substance abuse problem, while Toronto’s 300-participants, over half from immigrant and ethno-racial groups will receive housing units.

In the past, numerous barriers prevented mentally ill homeless people from accessing housing, such as, they were expected to be on medication, to be stable, clean and sober.

The five-year-long research project will provide housing, access to health care, psychological services and employment training leads to better outcomes for mentally ill and homeless individuals.

Another study goal is to determine whether providing housing to the mental ill is cost-effective, as suggested by previous related research, when a joint report by Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary found each homeless person in B. C. cost the taxpayers over $55,000 a year in health, social services, and correctional services costs.

Providing housing and support to these people would, instead, cost the system far less: $37,000 a year i. e. 33% in savings per person per year.