If you need access to essential services, lacking identification can be a massive barrier. For the many who experience homelessness, that barrier can be the difference in getting a job or finding a home.
That's where Guelph-based Northern Village is coming in.
They have launched Access2ID, a program targeting those experiencing homelessness, and providing assistance to agencies to help recover ID.
It started as a software written for StreetHealth in Toronto, to help those experiencing homelessness get things like birth certificates and health cards.
"We wrote this software for them, we did some market research and found that there's other organizations throughout Canada who are doing the same kind of service," Northern Village CEO Arni Mikelsons told GuelphToday.
"We took that software and made it into a software as a service model, so agencies across Canada can come to us and pay a monthly fee to be able to use that service."
Northern Village was able to expand the project after winning a province-wide contest for small businesses last year, beating out over 1,000 entries submitted to Meridian Credit Unions, and recognized for their "resilience, innovation and community spirit" through the pandemic.
The award came with a $15,000 grand prize.
The launch coincides with World Homeless Day, acknowledged each year on Oct. 10.
It's meant to draw attention to the estimated over 233,000 people experiencing homelessness in Canada, shedding light on factors such as the lack of access to affordable housing and systemic inequities.
"We felt it was an important day to show that this is a problem that exists, and that we want to do whatever we can to help alleviate it," Mikelsons said. "In a large degree, this is also us being a B Corp, and that we're in business as a force for good and this really fits well within our mandate."
Guelph-Wellington's most recent point-in-time report, released in March with data for 2021, found 270 people were experiencing homelessness in Wellington County, including Guelph.
In addition, housing staff found another 85 community members not captured by the survey.
