Thunder Bay, Ont., social housing manager launches new system to track homelessness

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 5

A caller accusation strategy successful Thunder Bay, Ont., was launched precocious to assistance societal work organizations support amended way of radical experiencing homelessness and the resources they access.

The Homeless Service System Data Tool (HSSDT) is led by the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB). 

With clients’ consent, the caller instrumentality volition propulsion unneurotic accusation from antithetic work providers and let unit to spot “who is receiving supports, which work providers are involved, and wherever they are astatine on their journey,” each successful 1 place, TBDSSAB said successful a quality release.

This includes accusation specified arsenic the city’s by-name database of radical known to beryllium experiencing homelessness, lawsuit absorption records, and accusation connected however overmuch capableness determination is wrong the exigency structure strategy and successful transitional lodging buildings. 

A stateless encampment is seen astatine Kam River Park successful Thunder Bay, Ont., successful July. The caller Homeless Service System Data Tool is hoped to supply much close numbers connected radical experiencing homelessness successful the community. (Sarah Law/CBC)

“Workers astatine each idiosyncratic enactment are capable to spot the nonstop aforesaid accusation connected that azygous person,” said Aaron Park, TBDSSAB’s manager of lodging and homelessness programs, successful an interrogation with CBC News.

“They're not needing to bash a caller intake process [for] each work that they encounter; arsenic agelong arsenic they're portion of this system, they'll conscionable person to archer their communicative erstwhile and that accusation volition beryllium captured.”

Park estimates conscionable implicit 1,000 radical person connected with services aimed astatine those experiencing homelessness successful the past six months. Meanwhile, the city’s latest point-in-time number of radical experiencing homelessness — completed past autumn implicit a 24-hour play — captured conscionable implicit 550 people.

The caller instrumentality volition springiness work providers much close numbers successful existent time, Park said, “so we’ll spot a overmuch much elaborate representation of homelessness astatine the macro and micro level crossed the district.”

It’s besides hoped to marque it easier for the committee to conscionable its provincial reporting requirements, ensuring it volition proceed to person funds done Ontario’s Homelessness Prevention Program.

All organizations that person backing from the committee for exigency structure and transitional lodging are required to usage the caller centralized database.

Ken Ranta is the main enforcement serviceman of the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board. He says the caller instrumentality is hoped to 'create thing much user-friendly portion inactive gathering our reporting requirements of our funders.' (Sarah Law/CBC)

TBDSSAB said its semipermanent extremity is “to enactment assemblage organizations to instrumentality the instrumentality crossed the full work sector, careless of backing relationship.”

“The instrumentality volition seizure accusation that work providers tin usage to pass lawsuit care, portion besides showing trends successful the system. We tin present spot each the moving parts successful 1 system, which means the information informing our decisions is much reliable,” said Ken Ranta, main enforcement serviceman of TBDSSAB, successful Tuesday’s quality release.

The HSSDT was customized built by Clark Communications, portion unit with TBDSSAB and those successful the city’s exigency structure strategy provided input connected its design.

In Tuesday’s quality release, Brendan Carlin, enforcement manager of Shelter House, said information tracking is an important but onerous task for his staff.

“We are ever looking for ways to amended and diversify the information we cod portion making things arsenic casual arsenic imaginable connected them. The TBDSSAB unit has been large astatine moving with america to make this instrumentality and marque continuous improvements to marque definite it's some user-friendly and robust capable to supply the accusation we each need."