The Absolute Cost of Homelessness - Calgary Drop-In & Rehab ...

4According to the CHF report, an additional$25,191.00 covers unpaid fees for EMS, CPSand Fire. Social services costs, per person,not including unpaid fees, are $10,513.80+ $14,600.00 (365 nights in a shelter @$40/night) hospital and Calgary RemandCentre stays totalling $15,761.72. It canbe assumed, therefore, from the numbersprovided in the Cost of HomelessnessReport, that it costs $61,156.48 to supportthis individual annually, with an additional$33,876.60 attributable to other factors toreach $100,000.Of the 15 clients responsible for the27 EMS calls, 10 are attributable toone individual with a non-alcohol or drugrelated seizure disorder. This individualhad difficulty obtaining appropriatemedication in 2009. All of the individual’scalls were EMS related. Over the course ofhis ten years utilizing the DI’s services offand on (he stayed at other shelters for acumulative period of two and a half years)this person had 24 EMS calls and no loggedCPS interactions. During his presence at theDI he has been noted as intoxicated threetimes. None of these incidences requiredCPS assistance.the ACTUAL cost of homelessnessAn examination of the actual costs,however, based on the DI’s records,indicates it costs substantially lessthan this to support a chronically homelessindividual such as this gentleman. In2009, the government of Alberta fundedeach shelter night at the DI for $28.00 --$12.00 less per night than the figure quotedin the Homeless Among Us which statesthat “Government pays a shelter $40 a dayto give someone a mat on the floor and ameal, which is $1,200 a month.” (p15) and,$20 less per night than the $48 used todetermine shelter costs in Report on theCost of Homelessness, (Exhibit A-1, p4.)Using the cost of $275.69 per EMS and Firecall 5 , this would account for $5,513.80 forEMS/FIRE support for this one individual.The individual had a total of 5 nights not atthe DI in 2009 which can be attributed to astay in hospital at an additional $1,000 pernight for a total of $5,000 6 . In total, basedon the numbers provided in the CHF’sReport on the Cost of Homelessness in theCity of Calgary, his Emergency Servicescosts for 2009 were $10,513.80.The Absolute Cost of Homelessness