Isaac.Coplan's blog

A few weeks ago I tweeted about three things I learned while working on the Leaving Home report on Youth Homelessness in York Region. Oxana from the Homeless Hub promptly messaged me – and planted the idea that ‘this would be a good blog post’.  I have taken some time to expand on what I learned, though they aren’t to be mistaken with the ‘key findings’ of the report:

The YWCA is “the oldest and largest women’s multi service organization”. The YWCA has continued to be vocal in their opposition to violence against women. This infographic is important for the community, researchers and service providers who work with people experiencing homelessness. Abuse continues to be a leading pathway to homelessness in Canada. Research found that as many as three quarters of women who use shelters have been the victims of abuse.

These infographics by the Centre for Policy Alternatives were released as part of the 2014 Alternative Federal Budget. The Alternative Federal Budget moves away from the idea that a balanced budget is the ultimate goal of the Federal Government.

When homeless youth find themselves without a means to support themselves, they are often forced to develop coping mechanisms that put their health and safety at risk.

This infographic by the Wellesley Institute on Shadow Economies demonstrates the challenge of unregulated employment for new immigrants who live in Toronto. The infographic is based on Shadow Economies report, which included analysis of 450 interviews in Toronto.

Almost half of those interviewed reported depression in the last month, and stress related to their finances.

Though the numbers represented in the infographic are important, it is only part of the picture. It is important to keep in mind real contexts and situations of despair that are caused by experiences of homelessness. This is the strength of this post by the CBC’s Angela MacIvor, which directly pairs the infographic with stories of homelessness in Halifax.

This week’s infographic is by the Center for Justice and Social Compassion. Myths have very big implications on the way that people understand the problem of homelessness. Service providers and other groups working with people experiencing homelessness can clearly see their detrimental impacts.

There is a huge number of people who are in need of housing in Canada. The infographic below shows it to be a staggering 3.2 million, which is about 1 in 9 Canadians. Our latest report card estimates that there are 200,000 people per year who experience homelessness in Canada.

Campaign 2000 is an organization committed to ending child and family poverty in Canada. The name refers to a resolution made by all parties in the Canadian House of Commons in 1989 to end child and family poverty by the year 2000. As this infographic illustrates, there are more families living in poverty in 2013 (967,000) than there were in 1989 (912,000).

November 25 was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This week’s infographic demonstrates the connections between violence against women and homelessness.