Supportive housing refers to housing programs that have a combination of housing assistance (e.g., rent-geared-to-income and rent supplements) and wrap-around support services (e.g., counselling, addictions support, peer support, and activities of daily living). Supportive housing programs serve a wide range of clients including people at-risk of homelessness, people with physical disabilities, cognitive impairment, and/or mental health and substance use challenges.
AMHO’s 2025 supportive housing report, Unlocking Solutions: Understandings and Addressing Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions Supportive Housing Need , enumerates the current demand and costs of mental health and addictions supportive housing, identifying the gaps, challenges, and opportunities ahead for Ontario.
Download Unlocking Solutions
Key findings from Unlocking Solutions include:
- 36,000+ Ontarians are currently on mental health and addictions supportive housing waitlists, with only 2-3% being placed in housing each year.
- On average, Ontarians are waiting nearly four years to be placed in mental health and addictions supportive housing.
- More than half of Ontario’s existing mental health and addictions supportive housing units require significant repairs.
- Operating costs for supportive housing range between $2,000 – $5,000/month, significantly less than psychiatric hospitals ($31,500/month), inpatient mental health facilities ($17,000/month) and correctional facilities ($11,000/month).
- People living in mental health and addictions supportive housing experience higher levels of treatment engagement and medication adherence, improved access to primary and preventative healthcare, and an increased sense of safety, autonomy, and dignity.
Unlocking Solutions also proposes a series of recommendations to help tackle Ontario’s supportive housing crisis. This includes:
- Investing $9 billion over the next ten years to build and operate at least 36,000 new supportive housing units in Ontario;
- Implementing real-time tracking of supportive housing, portable support models, and transitional housing options; and
- Developing provincial mental health and addictions supportive housing standards that outline eligibility, assessment, data collection, and housing quality requirements.
The findings and recommendations in our report would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of 81 supportive housing providers across Ontario, including many AMHO members, six coordinated access bodies, Connex Ontario, Ontario 211, and key partners including, Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Wellesley Institute, and CAMH.
