Every night there are at least 35,000 people who go without homes in Canada, yet, the Canadian government has little to show for prevention. The “social assistance” (welfare, disability support payments, old age security and employment insurance) provided does not begin to cover for basic living expenses. Today in Victoria, one month's rent in a studio apartment is anywhere from 800-1200 dollars, yet a single recipient of “social assistance” in BC will receive a total of 610 dollars to cover all of their basic needs. Many lower and middle-class Canadians live one day at a time having to make tough decisions whether to pay the hydro bill or fix their car. With the cost of living rising and minimum wage at 10.85 an hour, it makes it almost impossible to be above the poverty line, especially with single income …show more content…
She is working a minimum wage job and making 10.85 an hour. She works five days a week 8 hours a day her paycheck is 868 dollars. Meaning she is making 1,736 dollars a month, now if she has to pay rent for a two-bedroom apartment which is at least 1,500 dollars a month in rent. From that 1,736 dollars, she's now down to 236 dollars and still unable to make ends meet. If she is unable to make ends meet there is a high likelihood her and her families can end up homeless. I don’t believe that the BC provincial government is taking the necessary steps to minimize poverty since in Greater Victoria alone approximately 1,700 people are going without homes. With the cost of living being well above most peoples grasp, it is practically impossible for millennials to find affordable renting opportunities, let alone buy property. I agree that we are going in the right direction by raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars. Although, this slow increase of 4.35 dollars does not make up for the lack of compensation to account for inflation. To be sufficient, it must increase to at least 18 dollars an hour to live comfortably in today's
This perspective holds the view that the causes of homelessness lies outside of an individual’s control, and are often the result of a failure of public institutions. Structural causes are often those that affect the opportunities and the social environments for individuals, and as a result leads to a critical shortage of affordable housing, a lack of adequate income, and even discrimination (Gaetz, S., Donaldson, J., Richter, T., & Gulliver, T. 2013). For many, the lack of affordable housing - which is arguably the main contributor to immigrant homelessness in Toronto - may materialize from interwoven forms of discrimination and oppression based on an individual’s race, gender, social class, and even religion. Due to the low average household incomes of immigrants, the demand for affordable housing is further heightened. A study done in Toronto comparing homelessness and housing issues amongst women, revealed that compared to Canadian-born women, non-status migrant women had the most unstable pre-shelter housing, and stayed in shelters much longer compared to the other groups that were interviewed (Paradis, E., Novac, S., Sarty, M., & Hulchanski, J. D. 2010). This study supports the perspective that immigrant homelessness is the result of the failure of public institutions who are responsible for the policies which govern the
“Today … there is a growing crisis of women’s homelessness across Canada. The Canadian government has failed to explore the causes of women’s homelessness” (Rahder, 2006, p.38). This growing issue is caused by societies carelessness on the homelessness issue, and the lack of support to change it. Even the Canadian government does not see it as an urgent issue to address because, as stated above, they have even failed to
Homelessness is a condition of people who lack regular access to adequate housing. As this condition becomes a growing problem in Canada people are forced to deal with the issues. Who are the homeless? They range from children to adults and even in some cases, families. Why are they homeless? Poverty, lack of jobs or well paying jobs, decline in Social Services, domestic violence, mental illness, and chemical dependency contribute to the majority of the homeless within our society. What effects does being homeless have on members of the family? It contributes to many physical and mental health problems for both parents and their children. Homelessness is a world-wide issue, yet zeroing in on Canada, the majority of the homeless live on the
Structural factors, such as the availability of low-income housing exacerbate on the already burdening individual factors. The rise in homelessness is mostly due to the decrease in the number of low-cost housing units. Nowadays, families were struggling to consolidate their current situations because they are unable to afford the housing need (Thomas Betar, 2012). Inadequate of affordable housing is one of the contributors of homelessness (Ghee WY, Omar RNBR, 2015). A large number of low-income people have been forced to move. Nearly 6,000 people older people who are aged 60 or above in Victoria need to pay the rent of more than thirty percent of their salary (Ronaldson, 1999). The shortage of affordable and available housing straightforwardly harmonizes to levels of homelessness and inadequacy income and insufficient of
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:
This article (originally a speech) talks about how homelessness has been an issue in Canada in the past but is also an issue Canada faces today and how the future of homelessness in its society depends on the actions taken today. Specific information given in the article includes going back as far as 1960 with specific examples of how the Canadian government has been dealing with the issue through the ages. Giving direct quotes from government documents and speeches to statistics, it is divided to into three main categories: past, present, and future (and further going into sub categories from there). Relevant issues are discussed such as how some societal issues and global affairs affect the wealth of Canada and how this can turn into poverty.
Are Canadians people who are facing homelessness getting the health care that they need in Canada? Most people would think so because Canada has a system of universal health insurance. The World Health Organization(WHO) describes universal health insurance as ensuring that all people can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship. Homelessness is one on of the worst things that can happen to anyone. People who are homeless are generally in worse health than the general population. Even with experiencing excessive burden of acute and chronic health issues, many homeless people should not be facing barriers to primary health care, especially a universal system healthcare.
According to the National Council of Welfare, The majority of those who rely on social assistance in Canada tend to be women, children and people with disabilities, it is noted that government policy focus on getting them into the paid workforce without adequate supports such as childcare, housing, and money for basic expenses, these policies are considered to be unrealistic and create much misery for the Canadians that are forced to live under these policies (Women, 2007). According to Census 2000, the average annual pre-tax income of women from all sources including government transfers was $22,885 or 62% that of what men receive. In Canada, female lone parent families have by far the lowest average total incomes among families. Although women continue to be among the poorest of the poor in Canada, they make up a disproportionate share of the population with low income 2.4 million women in 2001 compared to 1.9 million men (Work, 2004).
I Feel like homelessness is a serious yet under rated issue specially here in the United States of America. In fact, the economy is still recovering from a big recession in 2008 caused by the banks giving out loans to people who really couldn't afford to pay them. I recall watching the news back in 2008 and 2009 and seeing the rate of people getting foreclosures on their homes skyrocket that it made me think about my living situation. Although this is a circumstantial situation that would force some one to become homeless, There are people who voluntarily choose to be homeless as well. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/recession-leads-to-25-rise-in-homelessness-as-spending-to-tackle-the-problem-falls-7994416.html).
33,000, this is the number of homeless that live on the streets in Canada and 8,000-11,000 of those people are youth in the age range of only 16-24 years of age. This number has increased and grown bigger by the days due to social and economic factors and coming up with a solution becomes more complicated. Many teens become homeless because of hardship in their life or addiction and mental/psychical disabilities, which affects the integrity of that person. This essay will explain the factors of how youth end up on the streets and the harmful effects it can cause and how Canada reacts and helps this problem. The world is discovering how the population of youth on the streets is growing and their trying make many
The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation of multidimensional support, perceived and received social support, and health outcomes of a proportional sample of homeless individuals in Toronto, Canada. This was done by measuring the mental health status, physical health status, and the recent encounters of victimization.
I felt most engaged with. Dr. Hugh Shewell, under the topic of poverty, he mentioned that C. Wright Mills used the term troubles and issues. Shewell gave an example by saying that if one is in poverty, it would be considered a trouble but if a thousand people were affected by it is would be an issue. That one person affected by poverty would be blamed for it, told that his or she is lazy because he does not have a job. This made me think of the homeless people in Canada. Since her not as many homeless people in Canada as there are in developing countries, this is not considered an issue it is a trouble. Also, homeless people in Canada constantly face creased and the government does not set them as the priority for the reason mentioned above.
Montreal homelessness is a serious issue. It is easy to notice the extent of the problem only by walking in the streets, and unfortunately not just in the poor ones.