ekaplan's blog

I have always viewed Black History Month as both a time to take stock of Black communities’ collective struggles for visibility as well as to celebrate their contributions to the advancement of Canada. However, the prevalence of homelessness among Black youth suggests that there is still work to be done. At the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH), we believe that to address homelessness, we must understand the roots of racial disparities and take meaningful action to reverse structural inequities.

Background:

The United Nations’ International Day of Education began on January 24^th, 2019 to celebrate the importance of education.

Status Quo

What do we know about how young people become homeless? While the answer to this question may sound simple, in reality, it’s very complex. This blog aims to explore the root causes of youth homelessness based on past and emerging research.  

This month we are featuring training to showcase research on housing and homelessness among multiply marginalized women (cis and trans) and gender-diverse people (including non-binary and trans men).

On 16 December 2021, mandate letters for Canada’s federal ministers were made public. The letter for Canada’s Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, available here, contains an important set of marching orders.

I was recently invited by The Economics Society of Northern Alberta to speak at their 2022 Outlook Conference about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homelessness. My slide deck is located here.

COVID-19 has made the gaps in the systems that serve people experiencing homelessness more visible. It has also resulted in an increased number of people sheltering-in-place in parks and other public places. In B.C.’s capital, the provincial government responded by making investments that expanded resources which spurred a new level of cooperation between BC Housing and the regional health authority.

When we were first brainstorming the knowledge mobilization topic to present on at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness last month, someone on