Several cities and regions have announced that they have “ended homelessness,” as this goal has b... more Several cities and regions have announced that they have “ended homelessness,” as this goal has become a major part of policy and community-based responses to homelessness. Yet, there are different ways to define what “ending homelessness” actually means. It is almost never meant in its most literal form, which would mean having every resident in a community sleeping in his or her own, secure home, on any given night. While that is certainly the ideal, and the goal we can work towards, it is simply not realistic in practice. People may find themselves homeless, at least temporarily. We need a meaningful and useful definition of “ending homelessness” that recognizes that reality, while pushing us towards an ideal situation. This is the difference between a Functional Zero end to homelessness and an Absolute Zero end to homelessness. To the public, the words “ending homelessness” likely bring to mind a vision of someday when no person will ever experience homelessness, which is the ideal Absolute Zero concept, that is arguably unlikely to fully achieve. The goal of a Functional Zero end to homelessness, simplified, is to achieve a point where there are enough services, housing and shelter beds for everyone who needs them, and anyone who experiences homelessness does so only briefly, is rehoused successfully, and is unlikely to return to homelessness again.
Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Cana... more 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 context of the issue. The aim of this research was to examine and describe the dimensions of rural homelessness across Canada, the locations and contexts that have been studied, and assess the extent of common themes across provinces and regions. In this process, we were able to provide a preliminary assessment of: obstacles to identification and intervention; the challenges in determining prevalence of rural homelessness and its characteristics; determining access to shelter, food and support services, and what factors contribute to housing crise...
The pandemic is forcing Canadians to re-examine civil society’s place in addressing social proble... more The pandemic is forcing Canadians to re-examine civil society’s place in addressing social problems. The government of Alberta has recently launched a Premier’s Charities Council to explore partnering with community groups, giving them improved capabilities to deliver programs and services and reducing bureaucratic clutter. Another aim is to explore leveraging civil society during COVID and recovery. This focus presents a good time to probe where the line between government and civil society ought to be drawn.
3 Abstract: Research suggests limited attention has been paid to the role played by non-profit co... more 3 Abstract: Research suggests limited attention has been paid to the role played by non-profit community-based organizations in offering violence prevention program- ming within school settings. This action research project emerged from the desire of researchers, community-based organizations, school systems and funders to ex- plore the specific challenges and opportunities faced by local non-profit community- based organizations when offering school-based violence prevention programming for children and youth. Data revealed challenges in the delivery of violence preven- tion programming, including lack of consistency and coordination with schools and lack of programming for diverse children and youth. Opportunities for improvement and steps toward action are discussed.
Homeless-serving systems are striving for greater impact and efficiency amidst austerity. Those w... more Homeless-serving systems are striving for greater impact and efficiency amidst austerity. Those with lived experience, governments, funders, and service providers have consistently and increasingly called for enhanced integration across services, organizations, systems, processes and policies as a means of maximizing existing resources. Here, the discourse of integration refers to ways of working better together across diverse internal and external organizational boundaries. At the heart of these efforts lies the assumption that integration is the desired state, an ideal that will result in improved outcomes at individual and population levels.As actors actively engaged in homeless-serving system planning work, we draw from on-the-ground experiences in Calgary, Alberta to consider how a nuanced understanding of integration can shape the evolution of a systems planning response to homelessness. Our practical experience working in the homeless-serving system on diverse integration ini...
In Canada, Aboriginal people are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness and othe... more In Canada, Aboriginal people are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness and other forms of precarious housing. In an effort to better understand the varied factors that might contribute to this situation, administrative data collected about individuals utilizing housing support services in seven Alberta, Canada cities were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between a categorical dependent variable measuring two housing situations (permanent/stable housing and precarious housing) and demographic, socio-economic, and personal health problem predictor variables for Aboriginal people within the study sample (n=1106). The analysis found that living in a larger city, having more income and education, and being married were all protective factors from being precariously housed. Having an addiction was found to be a risk factor for precarious housing. The findings suggest the need for more detailed investigation of the impact of addictions on...
The concept of “Housing First” has taken on a powerful status in the complex of government, non-p... more The concept of “Housing First” has taken on a powerful status in the complex of government, non-profit and academic systems that study and seek to eliminate homelessness. It is a compelling concept, in that it has brought our society to the realization that housing instability itself is often the culmination of various underlying and intersecting issues, ranging from mental health and addiction issues to domestic abuse and poverty. The “Housing First” principle holds that homeless individuals stand a far poorer chance of improving their condition while they remain homeless; that the stability of a permanent home provides the foundation that allows individuals to begin addressing the issues that led to their housing instability in the first place. However, the elegance of the fundamental principle behind “Housing First” also risks creating an illusion, wherein agencies and governments might too easily conclude that the entirety of this approach to ending homelessness is merely to beg...
Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Cana... more 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 homelessness at a provincial level in the Canadian province of Alberta. In order to understand the dynamics of homelessness in rural Alberta, we conducted interviews with service providers and other key stakeholders across Alberta. We examined homelessness dynamics and responses to rural homelessness in 20 rural communities across the province. Across all of the communities in the study, homelessness was reported however, the magnitude of the issue and its dynamics were distinct depending on the local contexts. We also identified several theme...
Several cities and regions have announced that they have “ended homelessness,” as this goal has b... more Several cities and regions have announced that they have “ended homelessness,” as this goal has become a major part of policy and community-based responses to homelessness. Yet, there are different ways to define what “ending homelessness” actually means. It is almost never meant in its most literal form, which would mean having every resident in a community sleeping in his or her own, secure home, on any given night. While that is certainly the ideal, and the goal we can work towards, it is simply not realistic in practice. People may find themselves homeless, at least temporarily. We need a meaningful and useful definition of “ending homelessness” that recognizes that reality, while pushing us towards an ideal situation. This is the difference between a Functional Zero end to homelessness and an Absolute Zero end to homelessness. To the public, the words “ending homelessness” likely bring to mind a vision of someday when no person will ever experience homelessness, which is the ideal Absolute Zero concept, that is arguably unlikely to fully achieve. The goal of a Functional Zero end to homelessness, simplified, is to achieve a point where there are enough services, housing and shelter beds for everyone who needs them, and anyone who experiences homelessness does so only briefly, is rehoused successfully, and is unlikely to return to homelessness again.
Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Cana... more 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 context of the issue. The aim of this research was to examine and describe the dimensions of rural homelessness across Canada, the locations and contexts that have been studied, and assess the extent of common themes across provinces and regions. In this process, we were able to provide a preliminary assessment of: obstacles to identification and intervention; the challenges in determining prevalence of rural homelessness and its characteristics; determining access to shelter, food and support services, and what factors contribute to housing crise...
The pandemic is forcing Canadians to re-examine civil society’s place in addressing social proble... more The pandemic is forcing Canadians to re-examine civil society’s place in addressing social problems. The government of Alberta has recently launched a Premier’s Charities Council to explore partnering with community groups, giving them improved capabilities to deliver programs and services and reducing bureaucratic clutter. Another aim is to explore leveraging civil society during COVID and recovery. This focus presents a good time to probe where the line between government and civil society ought to be drawn.
3 Abstract: Research suggests limited attention has been paid to the role played by non-profit co... more 3 Abstract: Research suggests limited attention has been paid to the role played by non-profit community-based organizations in offering violence prevention program- ming within school settings. This action research project emerged from the desire of researchers, community-based organizations, school systems and funders to ex- plore the specific challenges and opportunities faced by local non-profit community- based organizations when offering school-based violence prevention programming for children and youth. Data revealed challenges in the delivery of violence preven- tion programming, including lack of consistency and coordination with schools and lack of programming for diverse children and youth. Opportunities for improvement and steps toward action are discussed.
Homeless-serving systems are striving for greater impact and efficiency amidst austerity. Those w... more Homeless-serving systems are striving for greater impact and efficiency amidst austerity. Those with lived experience, governments, funders, and service providers have consistently and increasingly called for enhanced integration across services, organizations, systems, processes and policies as a means of maximizing existing resources. Here, the discourse of integration refers to ways of working better together across diverse internal and external organizational boundaries. At the heart of these efforts lies the assumption that integration is the desired state, an ideal that will result in improved outcomes at individual and population levels.As actors actively engaged in homeless-serving system planning work, we draw from on-the-ground experiences in Calgary, Alberta to consider how a nuanced understanding of integration can shape the evolution of a systems planning response to homelessness. Our practical experience working in the homeless-serving system on diverse integration ini...
In Canada, Aboriginal people are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness and othe... more In Canada, Aboriginal people are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness and other forms of precarious housing. In an effort to better understand the varied factors that might contribute to this situation, administrative data collected about individuals utilizing housing support services in seven Alberta, Canada cities were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between a categorical dependent variable measuring two housing situations (permanent/stable housing and precarious housing) and demographic, socio-economic, and personal health problem predictor variables for Aboriginal people within the study sample (n=1106). The analysis found that living in a larger city, having more income and education, and being married were all protective factors from being precariously housed. Having an addiction was found to be a risk factor for precarious housing. The findings suggest the need for more detailed investigation of the impact of addictions on...
The concept of “Housing First” has taken on a powerful status in the complex of government, non-p... more The concept of “Housing First” has taken on a powerful status in the complex of government, non-profit and academic systems that study and seek to eliminate homelessness. It is a compelling concept, in that it has brought our society to the realization that housing instability itself is often the culmination of various underlying and intersecting issues, ranging from mental health and addiction issues to domestic abuse and poverty. The “Housing First” principle holds that homeless individuals stand a far poorer chance of improving their condition while they remain homeless; that the stability of a permanent home provides the foundation that allows individuals to begin addressing the issues that led to their housing instability in the first place. However, the elegance of the fundamental principle behind “Housing First” also risks creating an illusion, wherein agencies and governments might too easily conclude that the entirety of this approach to ending homelessness is merely to beg...
Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Cana... more 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 homelessness at a provincial level in the Canadian province of Alberta. In order to understand the dynamics of homelessness in rural Alberta, we conducted interviews with service providers and other key stakeholders across Alberta. We examined homelessness dynamics and responses to rural homelessness in 20 rural communities across the province. Across all of the communities in the study, homelessness was reported however, the magnitude of the issue and its dynamics were distinct depending on the local contexts. We also identified several theme...
What Works and For Whom? A Hierarchy of Evidence for Promises Practices Research. Stephen Gaetz,... more What Works and For Whom? A Hierarchy of Evidence for Promises Practices Research. Stephen Gaetz, Fiona Scott, Allyson Marsolais, Tanya Gulliver, Bernie Pauly, Alina Turner, Yale Belanger, Bradley Harris, Isolde Daiski, York University; Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff, ,Laural Raine, Tim Aubry, Jeff Karabanow. Toronto: Canadian Homelessness Research Network Press.
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