A recent policy brief from Maytree highlights how Ontario’s deeply inadequate social assistance program directly contributes to the growing homelessness crisis across the province. Through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for data from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS)’s Social Assistance Management System (SAMS), Maytree demonstrates that a growing number of people in receipt of Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) are experiencing homelessness. This hardly comes as a shock and quantifies what has largely been understood by OW and ODSP recipients, service providers, and community advocates for some time.

As recently reported in the Hamilton Spectator, Hamilton is not immune to this trend, as the number of residents receiving OW and ODSP experiencing homelessness has sharply risen since the pandemic, increasing by approximately 140% from July 2019 to July 2025.

SPRC is adding to this critical conversation by providing a further breakdown of the data for Hamilton, which demonstrates an alarming growth in the number of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness.

The figures below provide comparative data for OW beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in Hamilton and other cities in southern Ontario. The communities included in this analysis were selected based on proximity and/or comparable characteristics to Hamilton (e.g. population size, regional urban centre, established post-secondary institutions, etc.). While Toronto is included as a reference point in Table 1, it has been excluded from Figures 1 and 2.

Data in the figures are organized by Consolidated Municipal Services Managers (CMSM) and District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSAB), which deliver the Ontario Works program. There are 47 CMSMs and DSSABs in Ontario. The City of Hamilton is the CMSM for Hamilton.

Table 1. Growth rate of OW and ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness

Source: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Figure 1. OW beneficiaries experiencing homelessness by CMSM

Source: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

An increasing number of OW beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in Hamilton is unsurprising when considering that the OW rate for a single recipient without dependents, which has been frozen at $733 since 2018, is well below what Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) has listed as the average rent for a bachelor unit in Hamilton for over the past 5 years ($899 in 2020, $930 in 2021, $947 in 2022, $1,022 in 2023; $1,035 in 2024, and $1078 in 2025)[4]. As previously reported by the SPRC, the average rent for “primary market rental units” (i.e. purpose-built rental buildings with at least 6 units) has doubled since 2010 and increased by a record $189.00 in just one year between 2022 to 2023, from $1,242 to $1,491, a larger increase than seen in any other Ontario community for the same period[5]. All the while, the value of OW rates has never been lower when indexed to inflation, and fail to provide for even the most basic necessities of life, as highlighted in SPRC’s 2024 report Indecent Social Assistance in Hamilton and Ontario.

Homelessness among Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) beneficiaries

ODSP beneficiaries known to be experiencing homelessness in Hamilton grew by 176% over the same four and a half year period, increasing from 168 beneficiaries in December 2019 to 413 in June 2025. Though the overall number of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness remains lower than OW beneficiaries, the growth rate of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness was notably higher than that of local OW beneficiaries and far outpaced the provincial growth rate of 41%.

While Hamilton does not have the highest growth rate in ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness (see Table 1), the number of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in Hamilton has been consistently and significantly higher than comparable Ontario communities. Hamilton more than doubles the CMSM with the next highest number of ODSP beneficiaries who are unhoused (over 200 beneficiaries more).

Since November 2024, Hamilton has also consistently ranked as the CMSM with the second highest number of OSDP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in the province, with only Toronto having a greater number of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness.[6]

Figure 2. ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness

Source: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Data on the total number of ODSP beneficiaries in Hamilton is not available through Open Hamilton, as it is tracked and stored by the province and is not publicly available by CMSM[7].  Consequently, it was not immediately possible to determine whether Hamilton also represents a larger proportion of overall ODSP recipients compared to other communities or the overall growth rate in ODSP beneficiaries in Hamilton during this period.

When looking at ODSP beneficiaries in comparison to the total number of people experiencing homelessness using data available on the City’s Housing and Homelessness Dashboard, ODSP recipients have consistently made up at least 20% of the total unhoused population in Hamilton since January 2025.[8] Data on the total number of people actively homeless is not available for most of 2024 due to a cybersecurity incident impacting City IT systems. As seen in Figure 3, between 2020 and 2024, ODSP beneficiaries made up between 12% and 22% of the total unhoused population, though most often made up a percentage in the high teens.

Figure 3. ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness as a percentage of total people actively homeless in Hamilton

Source: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, City of Hamilton (see Footnote 5)

While ODSP beneficiaries represent a high proportion of the overall unhoused population in Hamilton, it should be noted that not all people considered ODSP beneficiaries are persons with disabilities, as ODSP beneficiaries include people who have been determined to meet the provincial ODSP and their spouses and/or dependent children.

Likewise, the number of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness does not capture all individuals who have a disability and are unhoused in Hamilton. Only those who have successfully navigated the arduous process of applying for ODSP and have been determined to meet the specific ODSP definition of a person with disability are included. This number is almost certainly an underrepresentation of the total number of people with a disability experiencing homelessness in Hamilton.

Housing advocates and people working in the homelessness sector have also consistently highlighted how data on the City’s Housing and Homelessness Dashboard
does not fully capture the number of people experiencing homelessness in Hamilton, as it only counts those who are connected to homelessness serving agencies and have consented to their information being added to the City’s Homelessness Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS). This excludes those experiencing hidden homelessness (an experience in which Indigenous people, women and gender-diverse people who have experienced gender-based violence, people with disabilities, and youth are overrepresented[9]) or who are not connected to the homeless serving sector.

Despite this, the increasing number of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in Hamilton is alarming, and evinces that, despite being indexed to inflation since July 2023, ODSP rates remain woefully inadequate to meet even people’s most basic needs.

There is a significant body of research on the grievous health consequences of homelessness, which, for people who by definition have a substantial physical or mental impairment that results in substantial restriction in the person’s ability to work, care for self, and take part in community, can lead to disastrous effects. SPRC fully supports the recommendations made by Maytree, including increasing the rates of provincial income supports and the expansion of non-market housing in Ontario, and joins Maytree in urging the Ontario government to take immediate action to ensure every Ontarian’s basic right to an adequate standard of living is met.

Furthermore, with such clear links between the insufficiency of OW and ODSP and increasing homelessness province-wide, we see the rationale and opportunity for local and provincial organizations representing the business sectors, municipalities, health care institutions, and social service agencies to join advocates across the province in vocalizing both the need for and support of increasing social assistance to dignified, livable rates.

Such a large proportion of ODSP recipients among Hamilton’s unhoused population also has potential implications for systems planning and available supports in Hamilton’s homeless serving sector, suggesting the presence of accessibility needs for a notable number of people who are unhoused in our community. Further exploration into the specific contributing factors related to the high proportion of ODSP beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in the Hamilton context is needed to adequately support this population, with attention to potential preventative measures as well as the specific support needs for this population during and after experiences of homelessness.

[1] Data received by Maytree from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services in November 2025.  Available for download on the Maytree website. https://maytree.com/publications/designed-to-fail-how-ontarios-income-security-policies-create-and-perpetuate-homelessness/

[2] City of Hamilton, Open Hamilton, Ontario Works Beneficiaries. Accessed Feb 10, 2026.

[3] Data received by Maytree Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, November 2025.

[4] Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Average Rent by Bedroom Type by Metropolitan Areas, Census Agglomerations and Cities. Accessed Feb 10, 2026.

[5] Mayo, S. (2024). Hamilton Housing Crisis: 2010-2023 Trends. Accessed https://sprchamilton.ca/hamilton-housing-crisis-2010-2023-trends/

[6] Data received by Maytree Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, November 2025.

[7] SPRC has submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) for this information and will update this publication with the relevant information once received.

[8]  City of Hamilton Housing and Homelessness Dashboard, Scale of Homelessness. Accessed Feb 10, 2026.

[9] Canadian Centre for Housing Rights. (2024). Contextualizing and mapping journeys of hidden homelessness; Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. (2024). Homelessness Data Snapshot: Youth homelessness in Canada; Rodrigue, S. (2016). Hidden Homelessness in Canada. Statistics Canada.