Numbers and sources

Show the basis, not just the headline.

These are the public figures currently used on hopecard.ca. Each entry names the source, year, population and limit so that outside evidence is not mistaken for evidence about HOPE.

Current project count

No results claimed before there are results.

The operational pilot has not started. These simple zeroes are more useful than a projected impact number presented as fact.

0active HOPE cards issued

0members enrolled in an operating pilot

—not yet measured · pilot not started

Context and evidence

What the homepage numbers mean.

2,129

People recorded as experiencing homelessness in Hamilton

Source: City of Hamilton Housing and Homelessness Dashboard and its authoritative June data.
When: June 30, 2026.
Population: People recorded in Hamilton’s Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS), including people with a shelter stay in the previous 90 days.
Basis: Administrative homelessness-system data. It is not a one-night census of every person experiencing homelessness.
Limit: The count changes as people enter or leave homelessness and as records are updated. It does not measure HOPE.

$191.6M

Hamilton’s 2025 housing and homelessness investment

Source: City of Hamilton, Whole of Hamilton Housing Approach.
When: 2025 municipal budget.
Population: City-wide housing and homelessness programs and investments—not a per-person amount.
Basis: $191.6 million in total planned investment, including $130.2 million supported by the municipal tax levy.
Limit: This is a public-budget context figure. It is not HOPE funding, savings or projected revenue.

69%

Cost offset reported for high-need Housing First participants

Source: Cost-Effectiveness of Housing First With Assertive Community Treatment, Psychiatric Services (2020).
When: Paper published in 2020; trial activity ran from 2009 to 2013.
Population: Adults with serious mental illness and high support needs who received Housing First with Assertive Community Treatment across five Canadian sites.
Basis: The study reported that reductions in other service use offset about 69% of intervention costs. Its reported annual averages were $20,367 gross and about $6,311 net per person after offsets.
Limit: HOPE is not the intervention studied. The population, clinical intensity, period and cost structure differ, so the result is context—not a forecast or proof of HOPE’s impact.

Method

How this page will change.

Figures are reviewed against their linked sources when the website is materially updated. A number will be corrected or retired if its source changes, its definition is no longer clear or a newer directly comparable figure becomes available.

Future HOPE reporting will separate project activity, member outcomes, donor information and outside research. Small-group results will be withheld or combined when publishing them could identify a member.

Read the trust commitments Information for members