Webinar: Duty to Assist Approach to Homelessness Prevention
The Welsh Government introduced pioneering legislation in 2015, which places a duty on local authorities to make reasonable efforts to prevent or relieve homelessness for everyone who seeks housing assistance and is either homeless or at risk of homelessness. In no other country does a similar universal ‘prevention duty’ exist. Dr. Peter Mackie, a Professor at Cardiff University, UK, was the academic lead on the Welsh Government’s Homelessness Action Group and his work on homelessness prevention has had considerable impact, including the development of legislation and practice in multiple countries In this webinar, hosted by the Homelessness Policy Directorate, Dr. Peter Mackie presents on the successful implementation of this ‘duty to assist’ approach in Wales and Dr. Stephen Gaetz, the CEO of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, identifies some considerations for adapting this model in the Canadian context.