1. Mandate and Purpose
 

The Kings County Homelessness Advisory Committee (the "Committee") is established to provide leadership, strategic advice, and coordination in the community’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness.
 

The Committee has been established to facilitate cross-sector collaboration, aiming to support local homelessness responses that are data-driven, coordinated, and aligned with the principles of Housing First.

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The Committee explicitly acknowledges the concerns and impacts of homelessness on communities within Kings County, including residents and businesses, and through active engagement and collaboration will work towards identifying potential interventions and solutions.

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2. Guiding Principles

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The Committee acts in accordance with the following core principles:
 

• Housing First: Housing First practice treats housing as a basic human right, not something people must earn through compliance, sobriety, or program participation
  
  In practice, this means:

  • Separating housing from behaviour or service participation. Staff never use housing access as leverage or a consequence.

  • Supporting people through instability. Substance use, mental health challenges, or crises do not disqualify anyone from housing support.

  • Focusing on early engagement and advocacy. Workers help with applications, documentation, landlord communication, and Coordinated Access referrals.

  • Prioritizing housing retention. Staff assist with safety planning, problem-solving, and system navigation to help people keep their housing.

  • Honouring participant choice. Individuals decide what type of housing they want and what supports they are open to.
     

• Person-Centered: Ensuring systems are designed around the needs of individuals, not the convenience of organizations.
   

• Inclusion of Lived Experience: Valuing the expertise of individuals who have experienced homelessness as equal partners in decision-making.
   

• Equity and Anti-Racism: Acknowledging the disproportionate impact of homelessness on marginalized communities and actively working to dismantle systemic barriers.
   

• Data-Driven: Using real-time data (e.g., By-Name Lists) to drive decisions and measure progress.
   

• Community Engagement: working to build goodwill, respect and mutual understanding between the homeless and our community.
   

• Collaboration: to be in a posture of working alongside or together with other partners or groups, including those in our area doing similar work or from those from other jurisdictions, to optimize and not duplicate our efforts.
   

3. Roles and Responsibilities
 

The specific duties of the Committee include:

• Community Engagement: The group connects with the public to make sure recommendations reflect what people actually need.

  • Talk to those affected: They meet with people who are currently or formerly homeless to learn what really works.

  • Educate the public: They help neighbours and business owners understand the causes of homelessness and how to help.

  • Gather feedback: They host meetings so the community can voice their concerns and ideas.

• Collect Information: The committee will work with partners and agencies responsible for gathering homelessness and housing data to help track trends, identify gaps, and celebrate successes. The committee will also stay informed on practices that are working in other communities to help inform recommendations.

• Facilitate Collaboration: Respond to challenges related to homelessness in Kings County by developing goals and recommended action items, and convening working groups that are best positioned to respond and implement.

 

4. Membership

 

The Committee shall consist of 12-15 members representing a diverse cross-section of the community. Each member of the committee participates as a representative of the organization or sector to which they belong.
 

Composition:

• Lived Experience: The committee will strive to welcome a minimum of 2 individuals with current or recent experience of homelessness.

• Service Providers: Representatives from providers of shelters, housing supports, and outreach teams.

• Public Systems: Representatives from health, law enforcement, and government.

• Specialist Representatives: Representatives from organizations that provide services to populations for which the unhoused make up a large proportion or from relevant sectors within the community (e.g. business leaders, landlords, etc.)

 

Commitment: The Kings County Homelessness Advisory Committee has been established for a three year period. Upon completion of the three years, the committee will either be dissolved, renewed or re-invented. The members of the committee are encouraged to attend as many committee and subcommittee meetings as possible. The committee will strive to accommodate member participation via virtual meeting for each committee meeting. If a member is unable to attend, they may send a representative.

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5. Governance and Structure
 

The committee will elect the following roles: Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.

The committee will establish the following sub-committees:

 

• Housing

• Community Integration

• Mental Health and Addictions

• Communciations 
   

Other sub-committees may be created at any time in response to community needs. Each sub-committee will elect a Chair or Co-chair that will report back to the main committee at each Committee meeting. Sub-committees are encouraged to invite individuals who are not Committee members onto their sub-committee to support their work.

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6. Meetings and Procedures
 

• Frequency: The Committee will meet no fewer than 6 times per year. The frequency of meetings for sub-committees will be at the discretion of each sub-committee.

• Decision Making: The Committee strives for consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions will be made by a simple majority vote.

• Meeting Notes: Meeting notes will be taken for each Committee and sub-committee meeting. Meeting notes will be approved at the subsequent meeting and will be made available to the public, upon request.
   

7. Conflict of Interest

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Members must act in the best interest of the Committee and its efforts rather than their individual interests. Members must declare any real or perceived conflict of interest. Members with a declared conflict are welcome to engage in discussion on the matter, but must recuse themselves from voting on that specific item.

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8. Communications

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In public venues and events, members may identify themselves as members of the Committee, but should refer requests for information or questions to the Chair or Vice-Chair.

 

9. Code of Conduct
 

• Abide by the Committee Terms of Reference.

• Declare any real or perceived conflict of interest.

• Confidential information received shall be kept in confidence and not be used or shared for any purposes external to the Committee.

• Prepare fully for Committee activities.

• Conduct Committee activities in a professional, honest, lawful and ethical manner.

 

Review and Amendment

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These Terms of Reference shall be reviewed annually by the Committee to ensure they remain relevant.