Final Report on Indigenous-Led Approaches to Coordinated Access

ABOUT THE ARCH LONDON PROJECT

In alignment with the Giwetashkad Indigenous Homelessness Strategic Plan, Atlohsa partnered with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) and the City of London Housing Stability Services to lead the Action Research on Chronic Homelessness (ARCH) London study. The ARCH project aimed to identify and describe systems-change solutions and practical interventions to improve housing and wellness outcomes for Indigenous people experiencing unsheltered homelessness within London, Ontario.

Guided by Indigenous research methodology, we engaged with Indigenous people with lived and living experience of homelessness, Indigenous and non-Indigenous service providers, Indigenous leaders, and members of London’s urban Indigenous community to hear their feedback on London’s current Coordinated Access system’s functioning to support Indigenous people. Input from community led to the formation of eleven municipal policy recommendations, and several provincial and federal recommendations to support Indigenous-led coordinated access in London.

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WHAT IS INDIGENOUS-LED COORDINATED ACCESS?

To effectively address systemic barriers within London’s homelessness services system, we propose an Indigenous-led Coordinated Access approach. Indigenous-led Coordinated Access refers to any community-based approach to addressing homelessness where Indigenous communities take the lead in designing and implementing a homelessness response system. Development of an Indigenous-led Coordinated Access approach requires significant investment and capacity building in various system components such as enhanced flexible funding, cultivating strong Indigenous leadership, improving processes within coordinated access to enhance outcomes for Indigenous people and families, and capacity building for culturally safe services.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPLEMENT

Recommendation 1: The City of London to allocate 30% of homelessness funding to Indigenous-led responses.

Recommendation 2: Atlohsa to create an Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle (IHLC) to serve as a Community Advisory Board that oversees the implementation of Indigenous-led Coordinated Access.
Recommendation 3: The City of London to provide funding to Atlohsa to hire an Indigenous Coordinated Access Team which will include an Indigenous Coordinated Access manager, Indigenous homelessness systems navigator, and Indigenous leadership liaison to support the execution of the recommendations in this plan.
Recommendation 4: The City of London to work collaboratively with the Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to implement principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) for Indigenous data in HIFIS.

Recommendation 5: The City of London to collaborate with the Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to expand Indigenous-led intake into the Coordinated Access system.
Recommendation 6: The City of London to collaborate with the Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to support Indigenous-led, culturally relevant approaches to acuity assessment.
Recommendation 7: The Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to host regular case conferencing with the City of London to match Indigenous participants using Indigenous-led priorities.

Recommendation 8: The City of London and Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to work collaboratively to create more Indigenous-led and culturally relevant housing and housing support programs rooted in Indigenous knowledge and data-driven community needs to alleviate Indigenous homelessness in the region.
Recommendation 9: The City of London to collaborate with the Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to ensure accountability for increasing culturally safe services across the homelessness and housing sector.
Recommendation 10: The City of London to work collaboratively with the Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to continuously improve Coordinated Access processes and guidelines to address barriers to meeting the evolving needs of Indigenous Peoples.
Recommendation 11: The City of London to collaborate with the Indigenous Homelessness Leadership Circle to increase capacity and wellness of the Indigenous workforce to wholistically support Indigenous service providers.

ARCH Community Presentation on the Final Report

Atlohsa’s Giwetashkad ARCH team hosted a public community presentation to launch the final report on March 27, 2025 to share municipal, provincial, and federal policy recommendations with community members. Indigenous community members, homelessness service providers, elected officials, and Indigenous leaders were invited to attend this event to build partnerships towards implementing the policy recommendations over the next several years. Mobilizing Indigenous leadership within London’s homelessness response system will require allied advocacy, active participation, and strong relationship-focused collaboration between all stakeholders.

Review the Final Report and Policy Brief to learn about your part in being a change maker to enhance Indigenous homelessness leadership in London.

For more information, please contact giwetashkad@atlohsa.com