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Yesterday, we joined our partners in anticipation as Finance Minister Bill Morneau of the Government of Canada announced the 2017 federal budget. We welcome the investments in housing and homelessness announced in the new budget. Below are some key highlights.
Communities across Canada are promisingly moving towards eliminating homelessness. Provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador have put together strategies to end homelessness. Locally, Medicine Hat is gaining attention for ending chronic homelessness. But what does ending homelessness mean and how do we know we’ve ended it? Now, we’re beginning to answer that question.
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness would like to issue a correction to an infographic that was released on our social media sites in June 2016.
In Canada, hunger is largely a hidden problem.
The Canadian federal election of 2015 is just around the corner and in time for Canada's Democracy Week, we published a Housing and Homelessness Election Guide 2015. This non-partisan, independent, research-based resource analyzes four of the major parties running for office in the upcoming October 19th 2015 election. Our analysis provides important information to help voters make an informed decision.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term used to describe the range of disabilities and diagnoses that result from drinking alcohol during pregnancy. The impact and effects of FASD vary. Specific birth defects and the degree of the disability can depend on how much alcohol was drunk, how often and when during the pregnancy; they can also depend on the state of health of the pregnant woman. No amount or type of alcohol during pregnancy is considered safe.
Discrimination
One of the challenges in understanding homelessness and responding to it is that it is often framed as an urban, inner-city issue. There are several important reasons for this, including the fact that it is often in large cities where big investments have been made in homelessness infrastructure, including the building of shelters, drop-ins, housing etc. Additionally, the vast majority of the Canadian population lives within two hundred kilometers of the American border.
The health of populations - individuals, their families and communities - is determined by the complex interaction of many factors - social, political, economic, legal, cultural, historical and biomedical. Of these determinants of health, income has long been recognized as one of the most important.