Svetlana Grechkina, Wikimedia)
The homelessness and housing crisis is a serious global issue that we all witness, but not everyone is willing to discuss or address. In mainstream media, our homeless population is either vilified or glorified. Homelessness is not a choice made by the people deprived of housing, but a choice made by policymakers. Homelessness is not only a crisis but a tragic global epidemic.
It has been proven that the root cause of homelessness is not just a result of the lack of affordable housing, the effects of addiction, or mental health conditions.
While financial and relationship issues are the most common causes of homelessness, health-related issues can also lead to episodes of homelessness. Canadians who have experienced any form of homelessness are more likely to report fair or poor mental health (38.0% versus 17.3%) than the overall population.
From a statistical standpoint, the Great White North, Canada, is the sixth-richest country on the planet. Why is the wealth being so unevenly distributed? Statistically, one out of every seven Canadians is poor. How can we change this gloomy outlook for the next generation?
Canadian residents have not chosen homelessness because they have a stable place to live. Unlike other industrialized nations, Canada’s homeless issue reflects a different cause. Is homelessness a result of personal choices, structural flaws, or policymakers and government leaders in trusted positions neglecting their duties?
In Spring 2024, it was reported that Finland’s Housing First program solved long-term homelessness by gradually reducing and abandoning the use of conventional short-term shelters and converting them into affordable rented accommodation units.
My interest and background in working with the housing crisis and our homeless population is a vocation and calling. While living in Vancouver, BC, I had the blessing of providing care for our homeless population on East Hastings in partnership with numerous diverse and ethnic community groups.
Post-COVID, I worked as a Case Manager for the Ontario Housing First Program, developed by Greek-Canadian Sam Tsemberis, a clinical and community psychology practitioner and founder of Pathways to Housing, Inc., a non-profit organization that originated the Housing First program. Housing First is an evidence-based approach to successfully supporting people experiencing homelessness by providing stable and independent housing along with intensive, personalized case management.
The five core principles of Housing First:
- Immediate access to permanent housing with no housing readiness requirements
- Choice and self-determination
- Recovery orientation
- Individualized and client-driven supports
- Social and community integration
The best way to destigmatize the misconceptions that society has formed about our homeless population is to stop and speak to each person individually, and volunteer. When we all approach this from a place of love, non-judgment, and empathy rather than pity, the change in thinking will start. Hear, honour, and respect each story, as they are all different.
What are the leading causes of homelessness in Canada, and how can this be addressed?
We can help by contacting community leaders and poverty advocates to empower our outcry to the people in power to act in accordance with public needs by providing universal wages, making housing a human right, ensuring municipal housing offices are properly managing the inventory of affordable and social housing, and conducting thorough investigations to ensure there is no abuse in the social housing system.
“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” – Mother Teresa
