Homelesshub's blog

Concurrent Disorders (also described as dual diagnosis orco-morbitity) describes a condition in which a person has both a mental illness and a substance use problem. This term is a general one that refers to a wide range of mental illnesses and addictions. For example, someone with schizophrenia who is addicted to crack has a concurrent disorder, as does an individual who suffers from chronic depression and who is also an alcoholic. Treatment approaches for each case could be quite different. 

People with poor mental health are more susceptible to the three main factors that can lead to homelessness: poverty, disaffiliation, and personal vulnerability. Because they often lack the capacity to sustain employment, they have little income. Delusional thinking may lead them to withdraw from friends, family and other people. This loss of support leaves them fewer coping resources in times of trouble. Mental illness can also impair a person’s ability to be resilient and resourceful; it can cloud thinking and impair judgment.

Family reconnection (and reunification) for homeless youth is an intervention that offers individual and family support for young people who become, or are at risk of becoming, homeless.  It is a client-driven case-management approach that seeks to identify and nurture opportunities to strengthen relationships and resolve conflicts between young people who leave home and their caregivers.  Working with young people who are interested in developing healthier relationships with their families, staff offer individual and family counseling, family mediation, referrals to other

We’ve had an eventful past week here at the Homeless Hub. On Tuesday December the 15th we observed the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, also known as Red Umbrella Day. Joyce Arthur, a founding member of the national sex worker advocacy network FIRST, contributed a piece on the use of stigmatizing language in the media and its effects on the way we view sex workers.

Last week we released a new research summary on hidden homelessness in suburban areas. Homelessness is often thought to be an issue in downtown, urban areas.

Last week Joy Connelly recounted the availability of government services and affordable housing in the 1950s and 60s and how these once plentiful services look today. The best way to make sense of today's affordable housing shortage is to understand how policy has shifted in Canada over the years.

On November 25th we observed International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This infographic demonstrates the connections between violence against women and homelessness. All Our Sisters is an initiative put on by the London Library in response to a lack of women's only shelters.

On Friday, November 22nd we observed National Housing Day. Our "Ask The Hub" post detailed the history of National Housing Day, a day which dates back to the 1998 State of Emergency Declaration when homelessness was declared a national disaster.

Last week we released a new paper, entitled What Work and For Whom? A Framework for Promising Practices. While there has been an increase in the amount of academic research on the causes of homelessness, there is a lack of research on effective and practical interventions for communities. With this in mind, the Canadian Homelessness Research Network has created a framework to identify and share practices that support communities in the development of effective programmatic solutions to homelessness.