Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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Author(s): Abe Oudshoorn, Tanya Benjamin, Tracy A. Smith-Carrier, Sarah Benbow, Carrie Anne Marshall, Riley Kennedy, Jodi Hall, C. Susana Caxaj, Helene Berman, Deanna Befus
Publication Date: 2021
People experiencing homelessness are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of a pandemic, such as COVID-19. Therefore, governments across Canada have been implementing a patchwork of responses to address the needs of those who are homeless at this time. The purpose of this study is to both compile and assess the varying responses by exploring the breadth of actions presented in print and social media.
Author(s): Carrie Anne Marshall, Abe Oudshoorn, Julia Holmes, Corinna Easton, Brooke Phillips, Eric Todd, Joy Cameron, Sarah Collins, Suliman Aryobi, Chelsea Shanoff, Rebecca Goldszmidt, Steven Rolfe, Lily Yosieph, Jessie Ford, Laura Cornish, Mechele te Brake, Preet Chhokar, Madison Woodburn, Kristen Turner, Rozelen Carillo-Beck, Jessica Szlapinski, Nicole Pacheco, Shahriar Sabri-Laghaei, Debbie Laliberte Rudman
Publication Date: 2021
It is frequently assumed that when individuals secure a tenancy following homelessness, that their life naturally improves for the better in most or all areas of their lives. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that many individuals who secure housing after homelessness continue to live in a state of survival. While the importance of supporting individuals to secure and sustain housing cannot be understated, other aspects of a person’s life i...
Author(s): Abe Oudshoorn, Kayla May, Amy Van Berkum, Kaitlin Schwan, Alex Nelson, Faith Eiboff, Stephanie Begun, Naomi Nichols, Colleen Parsons
Organization: Western University
Publication Date: 2021
Homelessness is gendered and yet there is limited uptake of gender- based approaches to community planning across Canada. This research report explores if/how communities use a gender-based approach to community planning to prevent and end homelessness.
Key Findings/Outcomes
Women and girls (cis and trans) are under-recognized and underserved.
While service providers recognize the unique needs of women and girls, they encounter barriers to the br...
Author(s): Abe Oudshoorn, Tracy Smith-Carrier, Jodi Hall, Cheryl Forchuk, Deanna Befus, Susana Caxaj, Jean Pierre Ndayisenga, Colleen Parsons
Publication Date: 2021
Based on an analysis of a Housing First program this study explores the principle of ‘consumer choice’. Housing First is a model aimed at rapidly ending experiences of housing loss. Based on interviews with 4 program staff and 7 Housing First recipients, this analysis brought to light complexities in ‘consumer choice’ . The provision of consumer choice can be constrained when housing markets are tight, or when consumers seek congregate living whe...
Author(s): Abe Oudshoorn, Erin Dej, Colleen Parsons, Stephen Gaetz
Publication Date: 2020
While some progress has been made in addressing chronic homelessness through supportive models, a comprehensive solution for housing loss must include prevention. The purpose of this article is twofold: to conduct a review of the literature on the domains of the Framework for Homelessness Prevention; and to use literature on the concept of quaternary prevention, preventing the harms of service provision, to theorise an additional domain. The Fram...
Author(s): Abe Oudshoorn, Carrie Marshall, Deanna Befus, Colleen Parsons
Organization: Western University, Centre for Research on Health Equity and Social Inclusion
Publication Date: 2020
The purpose of this guide is to support organizations wishing to offer private rooms within their existing spaces. This guide will both assist you in considering key questions to help you organize your services as well as provide you with practical resources and policies to move from concept to action.
This guide draws heavily from the process in place at The Salvation Army Centre of Hope (CoH) in London, Ontario as of August, 2019. Therefore, th...
Author(s): Abe Oudshoorn
Publication Date: 2020
Homelessness is often considered to be an outcome of individual behaviours and shortcomings, or individual conditions. However, research has demonstrated that there are several policy factors that are strong predictors of homelessness at state or national levels. In fact, policies from sectors as various as the justice system, health system, income supports, and housing can all create the context in which people find themselves de-housed. This ch...
Author(s): Amy Van Berkum, Abe Oudshoorn
Organization: Journal of Social Inclusion
Publication Date: 2019
Homelessness is an ongoing social challenge effecting women in unique ways. The purpose of this research study was to understand a network of health and social services accessed by women experiencing homelessness, and how individuals successfully or unsuccessfully navigated these services. Data were collected utilizing a participatory application of the PhotoVoice method, grounded in a critical feminist intersectional perspective. Six women with...
Author(s): Bridget Osei Henewaah Annor, Abe Oudshoorn
Publication Date: 2019
The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a scoping review on the health challenges of families experiencing homelessness. There is a bi-directional relationship between health and homelessness in that poor health can increase the risk of housing loss, and experiencing homelessness is bad for one’s health. The experience of homelessness differs between populations and this review focuses on families as one of the fastest growing segm...