Government resources are instrumental in regions where local organizations struggle to find independent funding, and can help organize local initiatives and hold them to a standard of care. In some cases, this may mean national homelessness and housing plans, or strategies for the largest cities and hubs. Federal funding used to back local housing initiatives that align with a national plan is a common practice, alongside government incentives for local business. Government involvement can also help ease multisector collaboration, by funding or supporting initiatives that link systems of care to one another. 

What we do know definitively is that in many cases, an almost direct line can be drawn between cuts in federal funding, provincial spending on social and housing programs, and increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness and using welfare services like food banks.