The Mental Health Commission of Canada in its first effort of this kind has initiated a research project in five cities which takes homeless people with mental illness off the streets in five cities and provides them with a safe place to live.

The study is called, ‘At Home/Chez Soi project, involving 2,285 people who are homeless and living with a mental illness in five cities namely, Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.

The program will accommodate 1,325 people who will also be given social services over the course of the five-year study whereas the others will receive services which are currently available.

Another aim is to detect what works well in providing services to homeless people.

Dr. Jayne Barker who is the director of the project says that the federal government has provided funding of $110 million for five years, but transition plans will be worked on so that at the end of the five-year study period.

There are an estimated 300,000 people in Canada who are homeless as per the available statistics.

Barker said in an interview from Ottawa, prior to news conferences that are to be held Monday in the five cities, "This is the first time that a project with this kind of scope has been funded and it's a real opportunity for us to build on the good work that's already happened and to learn much more specifically about how best to improve the outcomes of people who are homeless and mentally ill."