In response to the growing homelessness crisis, there have been urgent calls to build more shelters. Yet, emergency shelters offer only a temporary solution for people experiencing homelessness. Overcrowding, limited supports, and a lack of culturally responsive services often trap people in homelessness, leading to long-term housing instability.
Shelter diversion aims to help individuals and families quickly find safe housing alternatives, reducing their need for shelter services and preventing chronic homelessness.
What You Can Expect:
You’ll learn essential shelter diversion practices and service delivery approaches to enable individuals and families to avoid entry to shelter.
You’ll explore timely, solutions-focused interventions and flexible, holistic supports to get results that are effective and sustainable.
You’ll gain insights from shelter diversion programs across Canada which will help guide implementation in your community.
Who Should Take This Training?
Community service providers – you want to learn from real examples and gain insights to start or strengthen shelter diversion in your community.
Funders and policymakers – you want to learn how shelter diversion offers a cost-effective approach to decrease shelter stays and reduce the strain on homeless services.
This training includes:
- 4 Interactive lessons
- 3 case examples to illustrate practices
- Self-assessment, feedback and reflection
- Course certificate upon completion
Participants typically complete this self-paced course in about 3 hours.
TRAINING content
Introduction
TRAINING INCLUDES
- 11 Lessons
- 2 Quizzes
- Certificate of Completion
Acknowledgments
This training was developed as part of the Rooting for Home project, a research initiative focused on shelter diversion and eviction prevention in Canada. The project supports communities in building the skills and knowledge needed to put prevention strategies into action and help people stay housed.
© 2025 | Canadian Observatory on Homelessness