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Publication Date: 2020
Addressing the vulnerability and unique needs of homeless populations during pandemics has been a major component of the Canadian federal response to the COVID-19 crisis. Rural and remote communities, however, have received little to no funding to aid in their care of homeless people during the pandemic. Similarly, there has been little to no research on rural communities’ pandemic preparedness in the context of homelessness. There are large numb...
Publication Date: 2020
Homelessness has negative implications for mental well-being and quality of life. This paper identifies the quality of life variables that contribute to positive or negative wellbeing, reporting on a regression analysis from 343 individuals experiencing homelessness in Canada. Results indicate that a lack of sleep duration and quality reduced mental well-being for both genders, not having access to food and/or hygiene facilities decreased men’s w...
Publication Date: 2016
Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Canada. Limited research and scarce data are available to understand the scope and dynamics of rural homelessness in Canada. As suggested in our previous work, there is a need for rural homelessness research to examine themes from a provincial perspective. The aim of this research was to contribute to expanding the knowledge base on the nature of rural ho...
Publisher: Canadian Observatory On Homelessness
Publication Date: 2016
The health outcomes of homeless people are poor, with higher rates of acute and chronic conditions than the general population (Hwang et al., 2011). Even more troubling is that people experiencing homelessness are subject to premature death (Frankish, 2005; Hwang, 2009). It is well known that the conditions under which homeless people live, such as having a lack of permanent and stable housing, inadequate income combined with food insecurity, soc...
Publisher: Canadian Observatory On Homelessness
Publication Date: 2016
Care of the homeless population during a pandemic is a serious concern. Why is this marginalized population so vulnerable during a pandemic? The more than 200,000 Canadians who access shelters or sleep outside per year (Gaetz, Donaldson, Richter, & Gulliver, 2013) are extremely susceptible to illnesses due to poor health, compromised immune systems, inadequate nutrition and barriers to accessing health services (Frankish, Hwang, & Quantz,...
Organization: Calgary Homeless Foundation
Publication Date: 2016
This report presents on the findings of a study examining symptoms of burnout, vicarious traumatization and PTSD among workers in the homeless-serving sector. The challenges of working with homeless individuals, including the psychological stressors of working with clients who have/are experiencing trauma, addictions and mental illness, as well as the physical/environmental challenges of the work are discussed. Within this discussion, the risks a...
Organization: Edmonton Homeward Trust
Publication Date: 2016
This report presents on the findings of a study examining symptoms of burnout, vicarious traumatization and PTSD among workers in the homeless-serving sector. The challenges of working with homeless individuals, including the psychological stressors of working with clients who have/are experiencing trauma, addictions and mental illness, as well as the physical/environmental challenges of the work are discussed. Within this discussion, the risks a...
Publisher: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
Publication Date: 2016
Over the past decade, most major Canadian municipalities have been involved in the development of formalized systems-level collaborative approaches to addressing homelessness and housing issues. The implementation of such approaches has been widespread and, to some extent, standardized based on the design of ‘community advisory boards’ (CABs) mandated and created by the federal government through the Homelessness Partnering Secretariat (HPS). The...
Publisher: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
Publication Date: 2016
Canada’s northern and remote regions experience unique challenges related to housing and homelessness. As such, there is a need to understand and develop strategies to address housing-related concerns in the North. The diversity of communities across the North demands the tailoring of specific local-level responses to meet diverse needs. Over the past decade, local networks have emerged as a powerful method for governance and development of local...
Publication Date: 2015
Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Canada. With a few exceptions, most research and intervention has concentrated on individuals and families living in urban areas; consequently homelessness has most often been framed as an urban phenomenon. Rural homelessness was unacknowledged, until reports from diverse rural areas began to emerge in the last decade which shed light on the unique contex...
Organization: University of Calgary
Publication Date: 2015
This report presents the program and client characteristics of four programs which utilize a “housing first” approach or program model to provide housing and support services to persons with mental disorders and co-occurring addictions. It then compares client profiles and housing stability of participants with those of the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s (MHCC) At Home/Chez Soi project.
Publication Date: 2014
Sobriety, treatment compliance and celibacy have traditionally been behavioral requirements for housing persons who are homeless, regardless of the circumstances leading to loss of home. This remnant of the British Poor Laws is based on the premise that personal and behavioral flaws lead to housing loss and must be remediated before a person can live in permanent housing. A recent approach has reversed this logic and predicates the ability to cha...
Organization: University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work
Publication Date: 2014
This study examined rural homelessness dynamics in 22 communities spanning Canada's provinces and territories. The main aim of the research was to develop a preliminary understanding of the scope of rural homelessness from a comparative lens and identify whether and how Housing First as an approach and program type can be implemented in a rural context.
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Dr. Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff (University of Calgary) and Dr. Alina Turner (Turne...
Organization: Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research, Alberta Interagency Council on Homelessness & Ministry of Human Services, Alberta
Publication Date: 2014
This review of the literature on rural homelessness is part of a larger study commissioned by the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research to support the research work of the Alberta Interagency Council on Homelessness. The researchers are complementing this literature review with case studies from 18 communities across Alberta, as well as interviews with key provincial stakeholders in a forthcoming report. This review sets out a f...
Publication Date: 2014
A rich body of literature attests to the importance of affordable accommodation and support services necessary, appropriate, and acceptable to persons disabled by amental illness.However, there is a little which provides a means for housing and service planners to determine the gap between available supportive housing and need. Such understandings are needed to prepare strategies and develop the resources needed to accommodate persons with a disa...
Publication Date: 2010
Aboriginal women, many with concurrent addiction and legal difficulties, constitute a large proportion of homeless females in western Canada. Debate about housing approaches reflects conflicting strategies and points to the necessity of identifying effective and acceptable models. This paper describes a preliminary study in 2008 of the housing needs and preferences of five Aboriginal women involved with a drug treatment court, in order to explore...
Publication Date: 2013
Homelessness has become an all-too pervasive and visible problem in Canada. It has spread from large urban centres to rural, northern and remote communities. While a number of programs have been developed to address the needs of the homeless in the hope of re-housing them, a large population of those at risk of homelessness receive little attention until their needs become dire. There are both societal and individual costs to be borne when this o...
Organization: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
Publication Date: 2012
Despite new federal and provincial government initiatives to assist with housing, in the last ten years the number of homeless persons continues to increase. With this increase a sizable number of sub-populations have emerged: families with children, people with mental illnesses, those with a primary substance use issue, immigrants and refugees, youth and seniors. The premise that most homeless people are without housing because of functional ski...
Publication Date: 2010
Housing practices and models of community care for persons disabled by mental illness have undergone significant evolution in the last 30 years. This review of over 750 reports from academic and grey literatures examines the evolution of policy and best practice movements that have linked housing, treatment, and supports for persons with a mental illness disability. A notable gap in this literature is that reports assume homogeneity among this po...
Organization: The Calgary Homeless Foundation
Publication Date: 2010
An Executive Summary of this report also exists. This literature review summarizes research, particularly published studies from the past decade or so, that focus on the risk factors, predictors and pathways in and out of homelessness. Unpublished research reports from reputable organization, especially Canadian ones, are also included. The primary focus was on factors that differentiate those that have become absolutely homeless from those that...