Homeless Population In Canada

Throughout this paper I will be discussing the issue of homelessness and how it is steadily becoming a more serious problem as time progresses. I will discuss issues that surround homelessness such as the NIMBY, not in my backyard, issue and how it is causing the homeless to not receive the help that they need. This is an issue that needs to change, but due to NIMBYism, it is very difficult create such change.

The homeless are a vulnerable population. They are defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as “an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” (The National Health Care for the Homeless Council, 2016). They are a social group throughout the US who are susceptible to all of the life’s cruelties. They are much more at risk for adverse illnesses due to their lack of available resources and medical help. Many have predetermined illnesses which need daily treatment but cannot acquire the medication needed. The homeless population lacks the funding for life’s necessities, thus the luxury of insurance and medicine is a dream.

Homelessness has been a problem for many years in the United States. This misfortune is becoming even a bigger issue due to people losing jobs and having no income. Not having any type of income leads to neglect in the way of just trying to survive. One issue that homeless individuals neglect is their health care. In this literature review, the main theme centers on how vulnerable this population is to not receiving adequate health care. “Meeting the needs of the homeless requires a different approach than that of the general population, thus healthcare providers must be aware of these needs and learn how to facilitate and improve care for homeless individuals” (Seiler & Moss, 2012, p. 305). The homeless population is a group that is sometimes stereotyped for their homeless situation; however, many are in an unfortunate situation that was not chosen by

The majority of homeless children and females are victims of domestic violence (NCH, 1998). It is estimated that there are 200 000 homeless people who live on the streets of Canada (Globe and Mail, 1998) and an 80 000 more in risk of becoming homeless (National Post, 1998). Of these people between 30% and 35% are people with severe mental illnesses (National Post, 1998). "On any given night, 45% of the 4 200 people filling Toronto's homeless shelters are families with children" (Toronto Star, 1998). An increasing number of the homeless are teenagers of which many are runaways who have been kicked out or felt they had no choice but to leave (Michaud, Margaret, 1988). It is difficult to find out exactly what age categories the homeless fit into because the information is very limited. -3- WHY THEY ARE HOMELESS There is so many different causes of homelessness the largest being poverty (NCH, 1998). Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, health care and child care. It is hard to make choices when recourses are so limited. Unemployment is also a large contribution to the homeless society (NCH, 1998). Another factor contributing to homelessness is the decline in Social Services. Within the last few years, government has made it increasingly difficult for anyone to be approved to get assistance. There is also the factors of domestic violence which forces many out of their home, mental illness which enables the individuals to obtain

The most recent survey of homeless individuals conducted January 29, 2014 revealed 958 homeless adults with no dependants, 70 of which were completely unsheltered, and an additional 130 homeless adults who also had dependent children with them. 208 of these homeless adults are chronically homeless (HUD’s 2014 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs, Populations, and Subpopulations, 2014).Wayside Christian Mission reaches approximately 7,000 homeless individuals annually (Wayside Christian Mission, 2007). In the Journal of General Internal Medicine, a majority of homeless individuals surveyed stated that they felt discriminated against or that they received lesser care because of their poverty or homelessness (Wen, Hudak, & Hwang, 2007). Homeless and impoverished individuals suffer from high rates of depression, psychiatric illness, alcohol and or substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, TB, Trauma, preterm birth, COPD, low birth weight, musculoskeletal problems, decreased access to care, foot problems, malnutrition, and high Emergency Room utilization (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Not only do homeless persons have a high rate of illness, but they are also less able to appropriately treat health problems. Many homeless individuals have limited access to care, cannot afford medications or nutritious food, and may have difficulty with managing a strict

It is time, at last, to speak the truth about my community. As an 18 year old living in Ottawa, the Nation’s Capital, I have had many feelings regarding the homeless and the poor living within my community. The homeless and the poor require much needed assistance, as their situation is miserable. Being given the power to make changes, I think this issue would be the first priority. As a member of my community, Ottawa, I must aim for a positive change. The change could be in housing, food services, and health.

The clinical issues affecting the homeless individual can range from mental illness to health issues. Several clinical issues affect the homeless population because of lack of health insurance and clinical resources. “The clinical issues affecting homeless people are dental, vision, foot diseases, post-traumatic arthritis, HIV, TB, STD’s respiratory infections, diabetes, hypertension, and nutritional problems are all major clinical issues” (Zevin, 2013). Quite a few people are homeless and suffer from various clinical issues because they have no insurance, housing, support from family/friends, or program resources. It seems when populations such homelessness is so huge some are left behind with no help. Various social service organizations exist that cater to the homeless population, but so many individuals and families are not helped because of mis-direction. Health care is an important factor to many, especially those who do not have access to a health care facility. Social services resources are available as well as the human service

b) Lack of supply- Along with the presence of higher demand in the housing market of the country already, the lack of supply of affordable housing in Canada has aggravated the crisis even more. Due to the presence of excess demand in the market, the quantities of housing, especially the private sector profit-maximizing ones have increased the price of their housing facilities, which in turn has contributed significantly to the already existing problems of homelessness in the country.

Today in Canada, a rise in youth homelessness is being observed across the country. Despite common assumptions, the issue of street youth is not isolated to Toronto or Montreal, but has become pervasive across the country. Although accurate statistics are impossible to come by, the disturbing reality is that both urban centers and rural communities nationwide, are struggling to provide their youth with adequate, affordable housing. Issues surrounding the supply and affordability of housing, combined with personal circumstances characterized by instability, are distancing youth’s access to housing. These causes and their overall consequences, must be faced before lasting solutions can be shaped by society. Housing Canada’s street youth will

The homeless population will only increase with our current economic status. Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring states that “intentionality is the projection of awareness, with purpose and efficacy toward some object or outcome” (Leuning, 2001, p. 300). Healthcare organizations and nurses need to collaborate using intentionality. The vulnerability status of the homeless is higher than most due to their lack of basic human needs of food, water, and shelter. The homeless population succumbs to a variety of chronic illnesses and disease, such as tuberculosis, AIDS/HIV, malnutrition and severe dental problems. They also fall prey to parasites, frostbite, infection and violence (Basics of Homelessness, 2002). These reasons alone prove that the homeless population needs to receive specialized care designed around their lifestyles. As one can see, this population is not going away and the problem will only continue to grow. It is up to nurses and other healthcare professionals to advocate for these individuals and help make a change by using specialized assessment tools and learning more about programs specifically for the homeless By ensuring that these individuals receive the proper follow up care through a collaborative effort of nurses, doctors, social workers, case managers, and psychiatric professionals, there will be a

If you do not already know what homelessness means, it is someone who is not able to live in a stable residence because of financial or psychological problems, so they are forced to live on the streets or put themselves on the streets, because they feel it would be a better fit. Homelessness in Canada is a very large and concerning issue because of the growing population.

“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)

Homelessness can simply be defined as the lack of house or shelter. Hulchanski (n.d.) believes that homelessness is “a great unresolved political and social problem of our time.” He defines homelessness as:

Imagine living paycheck to paycheck and having your house be taken away. It’s scary and now you have nowhere to live. It happens to many people, and sometimes, like in the case of the financial crisis, they end up living on the streets a lot longer than they anticipated. “Breaking the Cycle” by Sian Griffiths for New Internationalist discusses chronic homelessness and how the Housing First is helping. Housing First was created to lower the number of individuals living in chronic homelessness and they’ve been successful. Housing First gives homeless individuals permanent housing without any barriers or conditions like sobriety (Griffiths 16). Buying housing and allowing homeless people to move in doesn’t sound like a perfect idea, but the program has an eighty percent success rate which is higher than any other program (Griffiths 16 ). Since Housing First has been so successful in the United States, Canada decided to begin the program in their own country. Canada was experiencing exactly what the United States was a decrease in health care and social services cost. So, not only was this program successful for homeless people, but

In a study conducted by Hwang, S. W., Ueng, J. J. M., Chiu, S., Kiss, A., Tolomiczenko, G., Cowan, L., … Redelmeier, D. A. (2010). Universal Health Insurance and Health Care Access for Homeless Persons. American Journal of Public Health, 100(8), 1454–1461. They looked at unmet needs for health care among homeless people in Toronto, Canada. This was done by surveying a representative sample of 1169 homeless individuals at shelters and meal programs and asked them if within the last year they had needed health care but been unable to get it.