Homelessness In Canada
Out In The Cold: Canada’s Response to the Homeless
Brando Peso
Concordia University
I chose this social group through a personal experience with my best friend, Susan, who lost her brother to alcohol consumption and to a life on the streets in Vancouver’s downtown eastside. This paper is limited to Canada and its provinces and territories and discusses homelessness, offering a demographic profile, needs, legal jurisdictions and key policies and programs that address the principal needs of the homeless.
Defining "Homelessness" in Canada
The way a problem is defined has important policy implications: not only can the definition influence the perceived extent of the problem, …show more content…
but it can also circumscribe the possible solutions. No single definition of homelessness is "official" in Canada, and advocates, researchers, and policy makers have interpreted the issue in a multitude of ways (Echenberg & Jensen, 2008). Most take into account two important facets of homelessness: the specific housing situation and the duration and/or frequency of homeless episodes (Springer, 2000).
Homelessness is a broad term that can encompass a range of housing conditions. These can be understood on a continuum of types of shelter (Girard, 2006).
“At one end, absolute homelessness is a narrow concept that includes only those living on the street or in emergency shelters.
Hidden or concealed homelessness is in the middle of the continuum. These include people without a place of their own who live in a car, with family or friends, or in a long-term institution.
At the other end of the continuum, relative homelessness is a broad category that includes those who are housed but who reside in substandard shelter and/or who may be at risk of losing their homes” (Ibid).
Enumeration of Homelessness Attempts have been made by municipal and/or non-government organizations to enumerate the homeless population in various Canadian cities. The City of Calgary count determined that, on the night of 14 May 2008, 4,060 Calgary residents experienced absolute homelessness, an increase of 18.2% since 2006 (City of Calgary Community and Neighborhood Services, 2008). The Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness counted 2,660 homeless people on the day of its 2008 study (Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness, 2008). While the number of homeless in the City of Vancouver increased by 6% between 2005 and 2008, the figure jumped by 35% in the other municipalities of Metro Vancouver (Ibid, p. 2). Finally, the City of Toronto estimated that 5,052 were living on the street or in shelters or other facilities on the day of its 2006 count (City of Toronto, 2006). In 2005, the National Homeless Initiative, the federal secretariat most directly responsible for homelessness in Canada until its closure in 2007, estimated that 150,000 Canadians were homeless. Given the rapid growth found in municipal homeless counts, some non-governmental sources estimate Canada’s true homeless population, not just those living in emergency shelters, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 (Kothari, OHCHR, 2007). Advocates of the homeless have been saying as many as 300,000 are without a home since the year 2000 (Girard, 2006).
Demographics of Homelessness More is known about the nature of the homeless than its size: In 2011, most homeless are males in their 20’s and early 30’s, less afraid of being seen and are spread throughout the downtown sectors of every major Canadian city. A Toronto task force represented women at 30 per cent of the homeless. Estimates of homeless with psychiatric issues range from 20 to 35 per cent. Like many cities, Montreal streets are home to young men and women. Montreal is the city that created the ‘squeegee-kid’ phenomenon. Dans La Rue, a Montreal organization for street kids, had over 65,000 visits to its outreach van in 2003. Studies also show about one third of the homeless have alcohol or drug abuse issues. A study of 10 Winnipeg agencies that provide shelter and other services for the homeless cited over half served were Native (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2004). Canada-wide, on any given night, 40,000 people stay in homeless shelters. Single men are the largest segment of homeless people in most Canadian cities, but homelessness is rising among both single women and lone-parent families headed by women. Families with children living in poverty, street youth, Aboriginal persons, persons with mental illness, the working poor, and new immigrants are disproportionately reflected in the homeless population (HRSDC, 2010).
Principal Needs “A whole progression of support steps may be needed to help a person who is homeless. It may start with making appropriate supportive services available to people in difficulty, whether on the street or in risky housing situations. It may be necessary to provide accommodation and assistance in emergency shelters. The goal is to provide homeless persons access to transitional housing, to permanent housing and independence. In some circumstances, long term housing with continued support is needed. This progression could require continual support as every individual has different needs as they move from their vulnerable circumstances to more stable living conditions. This transition takes time and every individual will progress at a different pace depending on their own circumstances. Even once more permanent housing is achieved continued follow-up support could be required to prevent a return to homelessness” (HRSDC, 2011).
Legal Jurisdictions and Organizations Responsible for Service Delivery The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) is a unique community-based program which is federally funded and is aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to communities across Canada since April 1, 2001 with annual funding of $134.8 million for two years, and replaced the National Homelessness Initiative, which ran from 1999 to 2007 (HRSDC, 2011). In September 2008, the government committed more than $1.9 billion to housing and homelessness over five years. This included a two-year renewal of the HPS and a commitment to maintain annual funding for housing and homelessness until March 2014. As part of this commitment, the Government of Canada has renewed the HPS at the current funding level of $134.8 million per year, from April 2011 to March 2014 (Ibid). The HPS provides structures and supports that help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness achieve self-sufficiency and full participation in society. The HPS seeks to address homelessness by working in partnership with the provinces and territories, other federal departments, as well as with communities and the private and not-for-profit sectors (HRSDC, 2011).
Funding
The objectives of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) are achieved through seven funding streams.
The first three funding streams are delivered regionally. These streams focus on the needs of homeless and at-risk individuals at the local level, and provide funding to help individuals gain and maintain a stable living arrangement:
Designated Communities
Rural and Remote Homelessness
Aboriginal Homelessness
The four remaining funding streams are delivered nationally:
Federal Horizontal Pilot Projects
Homelessness Knowledge Development
National Homelessness Information System
Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative
Despite this funding from HPS, homeless advocates like Gordon Laird, maintains that government funding should be spent on securing affordable housing versus funding more homelessness programs (Laird, 2007). Quebec government funding for emergency services at the shelters ranges roughly between $8 and $12 – compared with the $27 per day requested. For the same services, Toronto shelters are receiving $61.70 daily. At present, the Quebec government’s funding covers a mere 12% to 20% of each of the three shelters’ budgets (Légaré, F., 2008).
Canada is one of the few countries in the world without a national housing strategy (United Nations, 2009). Many of the federal governments ' expenditures are cost-sharing, one-time only funding initiatives that lack long-term leadership on homelessness. The United Nations has also noted the lack of information on these expenditures, including the number of houses produced (Ibid).
Community Organizations in Montreal and Services Offered
Old Brewery Mission
Formed in 1889, Old Brewery Mission provides services to homeless men and women of Montreal. Services offered range from emergency services transition services, social housing services and services specifically targeted to women.
Emergency Services: temporary overnight services including a meal, a hot shower and a change of clothes.
Transition Services: a way to get off the street with the support of counselors and the development of an action plan geared towards finding a better life.
Social Housing Services: apartment housing owned by the Old Brewery Mission or other available options throughout the city.
Services for Women : responding to the specific needs of homeless women who are often on the streets for reasons much different than those of men
Source: Old Brewery Mission
Clients are assisted in the transition process and a return to stable lives (Mission Old Brewery, 2011). “We are determined to accomplish our mission of comforting the homeless while finding permanent solutions for them. The Old Brewery Mission is not the last stop for the homeless, but a new beginning” (Ibid).
The Old Mission Brewery relies on provincial government funding which ranges from 8 to 12 dollars per day compared with the 27 dollars per day, requested (Légaré, 2008). To account for this shortfall, various community fundraising initiatives have been implemented such as golf tournaments as well as the utilization of community volunteers.
Dans La Rue
Since its beginnings in 1988 by Father Emmet Johns (Pops), from a used Winnebago, Dans La Rue, has grown into “a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and dedicated volunteers, all to help fulfill Pops ' vision of helping kids survive the streets and get back on their feet” (Dans La Rue).
Services offered:
Front line services Front-line team reaches out to street kids — providing food, shelter, support and guidance when they need it most. The team is key to shaping each individual 's experience at Dans la Rue providing a consistent source of support and giving youths the confidence to move forward and make positive changes in their lives.
Chez Pops
The Day Centre is where street kids can enjoy a nourishing meal, talk to qualified youth counsellors and consult with a healthcare professional. The Day Centre is where they can find someone to confide in - someone who listens to them — and participate in a wide range of constructive activities and programs designed to build their self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
The Bunker
The Bunker is Montreal 's largest overnight emergency shelter for youths aged 12 to 21. With 20 beds and a staff of highly trained counsellors, it is sometimes the last refuge for some of our most at-risk kids. At the Bunker youths can sit down with one of our counsellors for support, advice and a sympathetic ear and find a warm, safe place to spend the night during times of crisis.
The Van
The Van roams the streets of Montreal, five nights a week from 8 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning providing food, hot drinks and toiletries to youths in need. The Van is the first line of contact with many street kids.
Source: Dans la rue
Intervention Programs
Dans La Rue 's intervention programs focus on giving street kids access to the tools and services they need to pursue their dreams and realize their goals. Dans La Rue offers youth the opportunity to learn and gain valuable qualification through an alternative high school program that is specially adapted for street kids.
Healthcare
Chez Pops is staffed weekdays by a registered nurse to consult with youth who would otherwise not seek health care. Two psychologists/clinical consultants are also on staff to provide support to both our kids and our intervention teams.
Employability
Dans la Rue runs programs aimed at providing at-risk youth the opportunity to acquire workplace skills through various employment positions within our organization.
Family Services
Dans la Rue provides support to young parents who find themselves trying to raise young children in turbulent and unstable environments.
Source: Dans La Rue
Prevention is one of Dans la Rue 's key areas of focus. We do this by educating high-school kids and at risk kids about the realities of life on the street and by working with community workers to provide them with effective prevention strategies.
Our staff has developed an innovative program designed to prevent gang recruitment and gang-related sexual exploitation and assault of girls and to prevent teens from running away by raising awareness among boys and girls about the dangers of street life.
School Programs
Dans la Rue has two outreach counsellors who visit schools around the region and give presentations using special tools designed to encourage discussion and raise awareness about the dangers and hardships of life on the streets. Community Programs
Dans la Rue has developed a specialized training workshop focusing on prevention for people who work with teenagers.
Frontline Intervention Program
Dans la Rue also offers a prevention program designed to help street kids to avoid the pitfalls of street life and introduce them to alternative survival methods.
Computer Lab Youths have access to computers that allow them to carry out a number of tasks. They are greeted by a fellow youth who coordinates usage.
Art Room A moderated studio where kids at Chez Pops can discover or develop their artistic talents and learn new ways to deal with their emotions.
Music Room A place where youths can go to express their musical talents, learn new skills and unleash their emotions in a positive and safe way.
Off-site activities Programs that allow for youths to leave the city and escape the drugs, prostitution and everyday challenges of the street.
Mentoring Youths face numerous transitions in the phases of adolescence to adulthood. We offer special support to youths who find it most difficult to take the first steps. Source: Dans la Rue
Funding: Dans la Rue
In a telephone interview on November 25, 2011, with Sue Medleg, Development Coordinator at Dans la Rue, she stated that, “Dans la Rue does not rely on any government funding, however when we do receive monies it is from the provincial government and amounts to 7 per cent of their annual budget.”
This 7 per cent is then earmarked and traditionally used for employment programs for youth, so if the Quebec government does not support Dans la Rue during any one fiscal year, they will then rely on other monies raised through various fundraising endeavors. They do not receive support from the federal government. Canada is a country of contradictions.
On the one hand, it is a prosperous nation of over 30 million people with over 80% of the population living in urban areas. The Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) sites Canada for its strong, economic performance including having recorded national budget surpluses for the past 11 years (OECD, 2008). Yet, despite this, Canada’s government is not meeting the needs of the homeless population as we can see from this paper. The lack of reliable data may limit Canada’s ability to address homelessness and has been a focus for international criticism. During a visit to Canada in October 2007, for example, the then-UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Miloon Kothari, reported that he “was disappointed that the Government could not provide reliable statistics on the number of homeless” (Kothari, 2007). The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has voiced similar concerns (OHCHR, …show more content…
2008). “Perhaps this year they will support”, has become the credo of not-for-profit organizations such as Dans la Rue and The Old Brewery Mission, who have stepped in the fight against homelessness and ignorance on the part of the government at all levels, including municipal, provincial, and federal. Having no single definition, homelessness, is understood to encompass a variety of housing situations and homelessness experiences. Similarly, in large part because measuring this population poses significant methodological challenges, there are no precise statistics on the extent of homelessness in Canada. Therefore, researchers and policy-makers rely on what can be measured. Information about shelter capacities and more local point-in-time counts provide important insights into homelessness in Canada. Enumeration of persons who are homeless remains filled with methodological challenges; however, increasingly obtaining more reliable estimates and an understanding of the characteristics and service needs of the population leading to more effective policy developments and intervention/prevention strategies are promising for researchers, policy makers, homelessness advocates, and homeless persons alike.
References
Begin, P.
et al., Homelessness, PRB 99-1E, Parliamentary Information and Research Service Library of Parliament, Ottawa, 8 January 1999, p. 8.
CBC: The Fifth Estate, No Way Home, 10 March 2004
CHAU, S. B. Y., & GAWLIUK, M. (2009). Social Housing Policy for Homeless Canadian Youth.
City of Calgary, Community and Neighbourhood Services (2008, p. i )
City of Toronto, “2006 Street Needs Assessment: Results and Key Findings,” Toronto Staff Report, 20 June 2006, p. 3, http://www.toronto.ca/housing/pdf/streetneedsassessment.pdf.
Dan la rue, Montreal Retrieved from http://www.danslarue.com/en/services November 23 2011 Echenberg, H., & Jensen, H. (2008). Defining and enumerating homelessness in Canada:
Parliamentary Information and Research Service.
Girard, M. Determining the Extent of the Problem: The Value and Challengers of Enumeration, Canadian Review of Social Policy, Vol. 58, 2006, p. 104.
Gordon, L. (2010, Aug.8). Examination of Canadian Shelters. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/Canada/story/2007/06/26/shelter.html (22 November 2011)
Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness (2008, p. 1)
Homeless in Canada (2010) Retrieved from http://www.intraspec.ca/homelessCanada.php (23 November
2011)
Homeless Individuals and Families Information System Initiative, Shelter Capacity Statistics for the Homelessness Partnership Initiative’s Designated Communities, 1 June 2008, http://www.hifis.ca/ resources/hifis/ShelterCapacityStatistics-June2008_EN.pdf, p. 3.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Retrieved from http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/funding_programs/index.shtml (23 November 2011)
Laird, G. (2007). Shelter. Homelessness in a Growth Economy, Canada’s 21st Century Paradox, A Report for the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for ethics in leadership.
Légaré, F., Mission Old Brewery, Homelessness: where have all the funds gone? Press Release 3 December 2008.
Medleg, S., Development Coordinator, Dan la rue , phone interview (25 November 2011)
Mission Old Brewery, Retrieved from http:// www.oldbrewerymission.ca/obm_services.htm (November 22 20011)
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Policy Brief Economic Survey of Canada 2008. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/ 20/27/40811541.pdf (November 23, 2011)
Springer, S., Homelessness: a proposal for global definition and classification, Habitat International, Vol. 24, 2000, pp. 475–84.
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Promotion and Protection of all Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Including the Right to Development: Preliminary Note on the Mission to Canada, Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non- discrimination in this context, Miloon Kothari, A/HRC/7/16/Add.4, 28 February 2008, para. 8, available under “Canada (October 2007): Preliminary note” at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/visits.htm.
Brando Peso
Concordia University
I chose this social group through a personal experience with my best friend, Susan, who lost her brother to alcohol consumption and to a life on the streets in Vancouver’s downtown eastside. This paper is limited to Canada and its provinces and territories and discusses homelessness, offering a demographic profile, needs, legal jurisdictions and key policies and programs that address the principal needs of the homeless.
Defining "Homelessness" in Canada
The way a problem is defined has important policy implications: not only can the definition influence the perceived extent of the problem, …show more content…
but it can also circumscribe the possible solutions. No single definition of homelessness is "official" in Canada, and advocates, researchers, and policy makers have interpreted the issue in a multitude of ways (Echenberg & Jensen, 2008). Most take into account two important facets of homelessness: the specific housing situation and the duration and/or frequency of homeless episodes (Springer, 2000).
Homelessness is a broad term that can encompass a range of housing conditions. These can be understood on a continuum of types of shelter (Girard, 2006).
“At one end, absolute homelessness is a narrow concept that includes only those living on the street or in emergency shelters.
Hidden or concealed homelessness is in the middle of the continuum. These include people without a place of their own who live in a car, with family or friends, or in a long-term institution.
At the other end of the continuum, relative homelessness is a broad category that includes those who are housed but who reside in substandard shelter and/or who may be at risk of losing their homes” (Ibid).
Enumeration of Homelessness Attempts have been made by municipal and/or non-government organizations to enumerate the homeless population in various Canadian cities. The City of Calgary count determined that, on the night of 14 May 2008, 4,060 Calgary residents experienced absolute homelessness, an increase of 18.2% since 2006 (City of Calgary Community and Neighborhood Services, 2008). The Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness counted 2,660 homeless people on the day of its 2008 study (Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness, 2008). While the number of homeless in the City of Vancouver increased by 6% between 2005 and 2008, the figure jumped by 35% in the other municipalities of Metro Vancouver (Ibid, p. 2). Finally, the City of Toronto estimated that 5,052 were living on the street or in shelters or other facilities on the day of its 2006 count (City of Toronto, 2006). In 2005, the National Homeless Initiative, the federal secretariat most directly responsible for homelessness in Canada until its closure in 2007, estimated that 150,000 Canadians were homeless. Given the rapid growth found in municipal homeless counts, some non-governmental sources estimate Canada’s true homeless population, not just those living in emergency shelters, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 (Kothari, OHCHR, 2007). Advocates of the homeless have been saying as many as 300,000 are without a home since the year 2000 (Girard, 2006).
Demographics of Homelessness More is known about the nature of the homeless than its size: In 2011, most homeless are males in their 20’s and early 30’s, less afraid of being seen and are spread throughout the downtown sectors of every major Canadian city. A Toronto task force represented women at 30 per cent of the homeless. Estimates of homeless with psychiatric issues range from 20 to 35 per cent. Like many cities, Montreal streets are home to young men and women. Montreal is the city that created the ‘squeegee-kid’ phenomenon. Dans La Rue, a Montreal organization for street kids, had over 65,000 visits to its outreach van in 2003. Studies also show about one third of the homeless have alcohol or drug abuse issues. A study of 10 Winnipeg agencies that provide shelter and other services for the homeless cited over half served were Native (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2004). Canada-wide, on any given night, 40,000 people stay in homeless shelters. Single men are the largest segment of homeless people in most Canadian cities, but homelessness is rising among both single women and lone-parent families headed by women. Families with children living in poverty, street youth, Aboriginal persons, persons with mental illness, the working poor, and new immigrants are disproportionately reflected in the homeless population (HRSDC, 2010).
Principal Needs “A whole progression of support steps may be needed to help a person who is homeless. It may start with making appropriate supportive services available to people in difficulty, whether on the street or in risky housing situations. It may be necessary to provide accommodation and assistance in emergency shelters. The goal is to provide homeless persons access to transitional housing, to permanent housing and independence. In some circumstances, long term housing with continued support is needed. This progression could require continual support as every individual has different needs as they move from their vulnerable circumstances to more stable living conditions. This transition takes time and every individual will progress at a different pace depending on their own circumstances. Even once more permanent housing is achieved continued follow-up support could be required to prevent a return to homelessness” (HRSDC, 2011).
Legal Jurisdictions and Organizations Responsible for Service Delivery The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) is a unique community-based program which is federally funded and is aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to communities across Canada since April 1, 2001 with annual funding of $134.8 million for two years, and replaced the National Homelessness Initiative, which ran from 1999 to 2007 (HRSDC, 2011). In September 2008, the government committed more than $1.9 billion to housing and homelessness over five years. This included a two-year renewal of the HPS and a commitment to maintain annual funding for housing and homelessness until March 2014. As part of this commitment, the Government of Canada has renewed the HPS at the current funding level of $134.8 million per year, from April 2011 to March 2014 (Ibid). The HPS provides structures and supports that help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness achieve self-sufficiency and full participation in society. The HPS seeks to address homelessness by working in partnership with the provinces and territories, other federal departments, as well as with communities and the private and not-for-profit sectors (HRSDC, 2011).
Funding
The objectives of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) are achieved through seven funding streams.
The first three funding streams are delivered regionally. These streams focus on the needs of homeless and at-risk individuals at the local level, and provide funding to help individuals gain and maintain a stable living arrangement:
Designated Communities
Rural and Remote Homelessness
Aboriginal Homelessness
The four remaining funding streams are delivered nationally:
Federal Horizontal Pilot Projects
Homelessness Knowledge Development
National Homelessness Information System
Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative
Despite this funding from HPS, homeless advocates like Gordon Laird, maintains that government funding should be spent on securing affordable housing versus funding more homelessness programs (Laird, 2007). Quebec government funding for emergency services at the shelters ranges roughly between $8 and $12 – compared with the $27 per day requested. For the same services, Toronto shelters are receiving $61.70 daily. At present, the Quebec government’s funding covers a mere 12% to 20% of each of the three shelters’ budgets (Légaré, F., 2008).
Canada is one of the few countries in the world without a national housing strategy (United Nations, 2009). Many of the federal governments ' expenditures are cost-sharing, one-time only funding initiatives that lack long-term leadership on homelessness. The United Nations has also noted the lack of information on these expenditures, including the number of houses produced (Ibid).
Community Organizations in Montreal and Services Offered
Old Brewery Mission
Formed in 1889, Old Brewery Mission provides services to homeless men and women of Montreal. Services offered range from emergency services transition services, social housing services and services specifically targeted to women.
Emergency Services: temporary overnight services including a meal, a hot shower and a change of clothes.
Transition Services: a way to get off the street with the support of counselors and the development of an action plan geared towards finding a better life.
Social Housing Services: apartment housing owned by the Old Brewery Mission or other available options throughout the city.
Services for Women : responding to the specific needs of homeless women who are often on the streets for reasons much different than those of men
Source: Old Brewery Mission
Clients are assisted in the transition process and a return to stable lives (Mission Old Brewery, 2011). “We are determined to accomplish our mission of comforting the homeless while finding permanent solutions for them. The Old Brewery Mission is not the last stop for the homeless, but a new beginning” (Ibid).
The Old Mission Brewery relies on provincial government funding which ranges from 8 to 12 dollars per day compared with the 27 dollars per day, requested (Légaré, 2008). To account for this shortfall, various community fundraising initiatives have been implemented such as golf tournaments as well as the utilization of community volunteers.
Dans La Rue
Since its beginnings in 1988 by Father Emmet Johns (Pops), from a used Winnebago, Dans La Rue, has grown into “a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and dedicated volunteers, all to help fulfill Pops ' vision of helping kids survive the streets and get back on their feet” (Dans La Rue).
Services offered:
Front line services Front-line team reaches out to street kids — providing food, shelter, support and guidance when they need it most. The team is key to shaping each individual 's experience at Dans la Rue providing a consistent source of support and giving youths the confidence to move forward and make positive changes in their lives.
Chez Pops
The Day Centre is where street kids can enjoy a nourishing meal, talk to qualified youth counsellors and consult with a healthcare professional. The Day Centre is where they can find someone to confide in - someone who listens to them — and participate in a wide range of constructive activities and programs designed to build their self-confidence and self-sufficiency.
The Bunker
The Bunker is Montreal 's largest overnight emergency shelter for youths aged 12 to 21. With 20 beds and a staff of highly trained counsellors, it is sometimes the last refuge for some of our most at-risk kids. At the Bunker youths can sit down with one of our counsellors for support, advice and a sympathetic ear and find a warm, safe place to spend the night during times of crisis.
The Van
The Van roams the streets of Montreal, five nights a week from 8 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning providing food, hot drinks and toiletries to youths in need. The Van is the first line of contact with many street kids.
Source: Dans la rue
Intervention Programs
Dans La Rue 's intervention programs focus on giving street kids access to the tools and services they need to pursue their dreams and realize their goals. Dans La Rue offers youth the opportunity to learn and gain valuable qualification through an alternative high school program that is specially adapted for street kids.
Healthcare
Chez Pops is staffed weekdays by a registered nurse to consult with youth who would otherwise not seek health care. Two psychologists/clinical consultants are also on staff to provide support to both our kids and our intervention teams.
Employability
Dans la Rue runs programs aimed at providing at-risk youth the opportunity to acquire workplace skills through various employment positions within our organization.
Family Services
Dans la Rue provides support to young parents who find themselves trying to raise young children in turbulent and unstable environments.
Source: Dans La Rue
Prevention is one of Dans la Rue 's key areas of focus. We do this by educating high-school kids and at risk kids about the realities of life on the street and by working with community workers to provide them with effective prevention strategies.
Our staff has developed an innovative program designed to prevent gang recruitment and gang-related sexual exploitation and assault of girls and to prevent teens from running away by raising awareness among boys and girls about the dangers of street life.
School Programs
Dans la Rue has two outreach counsellors who visit schools around the region and give presentations using special tools designed to encourage discussion and raise awareness about the dangers and hardships of life on the streets. Community Programs
Dans la Rue has developed a specialized training workshop focusing on prevention for people who work with teenagers.
Frontline Intervention Program
Dans la Rue also offers a prevention program designed to help street kids to avoid the pitfalls of street life and introduce them to alternative survival methods.
Computer Lab Youths have access to computers that allow them to carry out a number of tasks. They are greeted by a fellow youth who coordinates usage.
Art Room A moderated studio where kids at Chez Pops can discover or develop their artistic talents and learn new ways to deal with their emotions.
Music Room A place where youths can go to express their musical talents, learn new skills and unleash their emotions in a positive and safe way.
Off-site activities Programs that allow for youths to leave the city and escape the drugs, prostitution and everyday challenges of the street.
Mentoring Youths face numerous transitions in the phases of adolescence to adulthood. We offer special support to youths who find it most difficult to take the first steps. Source: Dans la Rue
Funding: Dans la Rue
In a telephone interview on November 25, 2011, with Sue Medleg, Development Coordinator at Dans la Rue, she stated that, “Dans la Rue does not rely on any government funding, however when we do receive monies it is from the provincial government and amounts to 7 per cent of their annual budget.”
This 7 per cent is then earmarked and traditionally used for employment programs for youth, so if the Quebec government does not support Dans la Rue during any one fiscal year, they will then rely on other monies raised through various fundraising endeavors. They do not receive support from the federal government. Canada is a country of contradictions.
On the one hand, it is a prosperous nation of over 30 million people with over 80% of the population living in urban areas. The Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) sites Canada for its strong, economic performance including having recorded national budget surpluses for the past 11 years (OECD, 2008). Yet, despite this, Canada’s government is not meeting the needs of the homeless population as we can see from this paper. The lack of reliable data may limit Canada’s ability to address homelessness and has been a focus for international criticism. During a visit to Canada in October 2007, for example, the then-UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Miloon Kothari, reported that he “was disappointed that the Government could not provide reliable statistics on the number of homeless” (Kothari, 2007). The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has voiced similar concerns (OHCHR, …show more content…
2008). “Perhaps this year they will support”, has become the credo of not-for-profit organizations such as Dans la Rue and The Old Brewery Mission, who have stepped in the fight against homelessness and ignorance on the part of the government at all levels, including municipal, provincial, and federal. Having no single definition, homelessness, is understood to encompass a variety of housing situations and homelessness experiences. Similarly, in large part because measuring this population poses significant methodological challenges, there are no precise statistics on the extent of homelessness in Canada. Therefore, researchers and policy-makers rely on what can be measured. Information about shelter capacities and more local point-in-time counts provide important insights into homelessness in Canada. Enumeration of persons who are homeless remains filled with methodological challenges; however, increasingly obtaining more reliable estimates and an understanding of the characteristics and service needs of the population leading to more effective policy developments and intervention/prevention strategies are promising for researchers, policy makers, homelessness advocates, and homeless persons alike.
References
Begin, P.
et al., Homelessness, PRB 99-1E, Parliamentary Information and Research Service Library of Parliament, Ottawa, 8 January 1999, p. 8.
CBC: The Fifth Estate, No Way Home, 10 March 2004
CHAU, S. B. Y., & GAWLIUK, M. (2009). Social Housing Policy for Homeless Canadian Youth.
City of Calgary, Community and Neighbourhood Services (2008, p. i )
City of Toronto, “2006 Street Needs Assessment: Results and Key Findings,” Toronto Staff Report, 20 June 2006, p. 3, http://www.toronto.ca/housing/pdf/streetneedsassessment.pdf.
Dan la rue, Montreal Retrieved from http://www.danslarue.com/en/services November 23 2011 Echenberg, H., & Jensen, H. (2008). Defining and enumerating homelessness in Canada:
Parliamentary Information and Research Service.
Girard, M. Determining the Extent of the Problem: The Value and Challengers of Enumeration, Canadian Review of Social Policy, Vol. 58, 2006, p. 104.
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