Comparing the Homelessness Plan Experiences of Small Canadian Cities: Emerging Insights for Policy and Practice

This paper presents analytical learnings of a community-engaged study in three small to medium-ranged cities in Canada at diverse points in time relative to multi-year plans to end homelessness. Through semi-structured interviews with service providers, this comparative case study provides insight into the experiences of agencies in the homeless-serving sector when adapting and integrating plans to end homelessness in their work. It proposes de-siloing service sectors as an important contribution to systems change theory and organizational change theory in homelessness prevention work, as homelessness-serving agencies in smaller Canadian cities adapt to, and implement, homelessness plans and policies. Findings suggest that jurisdictional issues, unstable and inflexible resources, and communication and data issues impact service providers’ attitudes toward organizational change and their willingness and capacity to adhere to homelessness plans in their communities. While multi-site studies involve economic and political differences across cities, these do not preclude cross-pollination of innovations. Such research offers the potential for cross-site scaling up, and a comparative approach helps systems move beyond biases in policy development and implementation.