Ending Homelessness In Canada Essay
With the recent affordable-housing crisis that has been transpiring in Canada, homelessness has become a highly significant social issue (Gaetz, Gulliver, & Richter, 2014, p. 5). To address the issue of homelessness, the Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness (Secretariat) released the document “A Plan for Alberta: Ending Homelessness in 10 Years” in 2008. The philosophy behind this plan is Housing First which was popularized in New York City in the 1990’s (Calgary Homeless Foundation, 2014, p. 1).
A Rights Issue The Government of Canada (2015) ratified the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1976 (para. 1). In the ICESCR (1966), article 11 states that everyone and their family has a right to an “adequate standard of living” and other basic needs such as food, clothing and housing. The article also stated that everyone had the right to the “continuous improvement of living conditions”. Article 2(2) also ensures that the ICESCR (1966) be applied to all persons without discrimination. However, from the recent trend regarding homelessness, it seems that Canada is having …show more content…
difficulty in upholding these rights.
Also, Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (1982) states everyone right to life, liberty and security of the person.
In the context of the homeless population, these are rights that are being infringed upon.
In the Canadian Human Rights Act (1985), Article 5 states
A Plan to End Homelessness
In the plan, homeless Albertans were aggregated into four categories: chronic, transient, employable, and families.
One was considered chronically homeless if they were “continuously homeless for a year or more, or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years” and “have been sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation” or in emergency shelters (Secretariat, 2008, p. 7). Conversely, transient homelessness was explained as a lesser degree of chronic homelessness. Individuals who needed support with finding permanent housing and did not have any significant barriers to employment were considered employable homeless. The Secretariat (2008) noted that homeless families had a high rates of women with children who were fleeing domestic violence and were attempting to find a stable living situation
(p.7).
According to Gaetz, Gulliver, and Richter (2014), there are about 235,000 homeless Canadians each year (p.41). This crisis is affecting low to middle-income individuals and families (p. 36). Because of this, many Canadians and their families are thrust into instability.
According to Anucha and Jeyapal (2009, as cited in Noble, 2014), unstable housing can negatively affect the physical and mental health, and developmental outcomes of children (p. 6). Noble (2014) also noted that these children may either experienced traumatic events prior to homelessness or will experience traumatic events due to being homeless (p. 6). Because of this, she notes that it is important to prevent or decrease the length of homelessness of families as to not further harm children (p. 6). This follows section 2(d) of the Children’s First Act (2013), which states that “that prevention and early intervention are fundamental in addressing social challenges affecting children”.
Housing First Policy
Previously, attempts to address homelessness was centered on managing it such as creating more shelter spaces but, the plan focuses on helping the homeless become more self-reliant and securing and maintaining permanent housing (Secretariat, 2008, p. 7). The Housing First approach focuses on rehousing people first and then working with the challenges that they are facing which impact their ability to maintain stable living conditions, instead of the other way around (Gaetz, Scott, & Gulliver, 2013, p. 2; Noble, 2015, p. 9). Support services that individuals and families can access in this approach include case management, rent support, and community integration (p. 2).
Using this policy, homeless serving agencies will focus on “rapid-rehousing” (Secretariat, 2008, p. 17), which aims to re-house clients into permanent and stable housing within 21 days (p. 14), and breaking cycles of homelessness. The individual or family will then receive individualized support to help them maintain their housing.
However, that lack of affordable housing greatly impacts this policy (Noble, 2015, p. 12). Because this policy is centered on first finding suitable housing, it makes it difficult to implement when market housing is unaffordable. According to the literature review by Gaetz et al. (2013), Housing First has helped many clients maintain stable housing and overall outcomes (p. 12-13). It found that these individuals and families have reduced their visits to emergency services, reduced their involvement with the justice system, and improved their quality of life (p. 12-13).
A Rights Issue The Government of Canada (2015) ratified the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1976 (para. 1). In the ICESCR (1966), article 11 states that everyone and their family has a right to an “adequate standard of living” and other basic needs such as food, clothing and housing. The article also stated that everyone had the right to the “continuous improvement of living conditions”. Article 2(2) also ensures that the ICESCR (1966) be applied to all persons without discrimination. However, from the recent trend regarding homelessness, it seems that Canada is having …show more content…
difficulty in upholding these rights.
Also, Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (1982) states everyone right to life, liberty and security of the person.
In the context of the homeless population, these are rights that are being infringed upon.
In the Canadian Human Rights Act (1985), Article 5 states
A Plan to End Homelessness
In the plan, homeless Albertans were aggregated into four categories: chronic, transient, employable, and families.
One was considered chronically homeless if they were “continuously homeless for a year or more, or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years” and “have been sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation” or in emergency shelters (Secretariat, 2008, p. 7). Conversely, transient homelessness was explained as a lesser degree of chronic homelessness. Individuals who needed support with finding permanent housing and did not have any significant barriers to employment were considered employable homeless. The Secretariat (2008) noted that homeless families had a high rates of women with children who were fleeing domestic violence and were attempting to find a stable living situation
(p.7).
According to Gaetz, Gulliver, and Richter (2014), there are about 235,000 homeless Canadians each year (p.41). This crisis is affecting low to middle-income individuals and families (p. 36). Because of this, many Canadians and their families are thrust into instability.
According to Anucha and Jeyapal (2009, as cited in Noble, 2014), unstable housing can negatively affect the physical and mental health, and developmental outcomes of children (p. 6). Noble (2014) also noted that these children may either experienced traumatic events prior to homelessness or will experience traumatic events due to being homeless (p. 6). Because of this, she notes that it is important to prevent or decrease the length of homelessness of families as to not further harm children (p. 6). This follows section 2(d) of the Children’s First Act (2013), which states that “that prevention and early intervention are fundamental in addressing social challenges affecting children”.
Housing First Policy
Previously, attempts to address homelessness was centered on managing it such as creating more shelter spaces but, the plan focuses on helping the homeless become more self-reliant and securing and maintaining permanent housing (Secretariat, 2008, p. 7). The Housing First approach focuses on rehousing people first and then working with the challenges that they are facing which impact their ability to maintain stable living conditions, instead of the other way around (Gaetz, Scott, & Gulliver, 2013, p. 2; Noble, 2015, p. 9). Support services that individuals and families can access in this approach include case management, rent support, and community integration (p. 2).
Using this policy, homeless serving agencies will focus on “rapid-rehousing” (Secretariat, 2008, p. 17), which aims to re-house clients into permanent and stable housing within 21 days (p. 14), and breaking cycles of homelessness. The individual or family will then receive individualized support to help them maintain their housing.
However, that lack of affordable housing greatly impacts this policy (Noble, 2015, p. 12). Because this policy is centered on first finding suitable housing, it makes it difficult to implement when market housing is unaffordable. According to the literature review by Gaetz et al. (2013), Housing First has helped many clients maintain stable housing and overall outcomes (p. 12-13). It found that these individuals and families have reduced their visits to emergency services, reduced their involvement with the justice system, and improved their quality of life (p. 12-13).