HOMELESSNESS IN NORTH AMERICA
A home is not just a physical space but is one that provides an identity, roots, security, a feeling of belonging, and an area of emotional wellbeing for individual. Consequently, people who sleep in private or public places not designed for sleeping accommodations can be classified as homeless (Gaetz, 2016). Consequently, homeless people do not have permanent residences and lack community ties and resources that are necessary to afford them with shelter. In Canada, homelessness is at its peak, and some people do not have shelter. According to Smith, these people live in the streets and sleep in train stations, bus stations, rail yards, public parks, heating grates, rooftops, loading docks, alleyways and subways (2017). Notably, homeless people mainly have temporary shelters moving from one friend’s house to another, emergency, and family accommodations. Most importantly, homelessness has primarily been caused by unemployment. Homeless individuals have been characterized by an inability and instability to acquire a regular job. Notably, there are many controversial views on the causes of the homeless in Canada. Also, there are different opinions on how to resolve the problem and provide shelter to homeless people. In effect, this paper will analyze different views on the causes of homelessness and solutions (Smith, 2017). After that argue that homelessness is as caused by lack of employment, lack of low-income housing, poverty, and deinstitutionalization and cuts in the fund for public welfare. Nonetheless, this paper will assert that homelessness can be resolved through the creation of job opportunities for homeless people, procurement of funds for social welfare, and the creation of low-income houses that are affordable.
The current situation of homelessness in Canada has roots in the 1960s (Reynolds, 2016). In the period, the word “homeless” began to be used merely to refer to people living in low-quality housing and to transient people who had no ties to any families such as migrant workers. Markedly, homelessness was not a big concern in Canada since there were cheap accommodations that were available in the poor regions of major cities. Thus, even the most impoverished and most destitute people could find shelter. However, over the years, homelessness cases have progressively. The Canadian government has failed to create adequate employment to its populations, and thus, there are high rates of poverty in the region (Reynolds, 2016). Notably, cases of mass homelessness emerged in the 1980s after massive disinvestment in houses that were affordable, reduction in spending directed towards social support and structural shifts of the Canadian economy. As a result, efforts have been made by various stakeholders in an attempt to resolve the issue. However, these efforts have been primarily focused on availing emergency services, and thus, there hasn’t been any meaningful progress in reducing the high level of homelessness in the region.
On the other hand, death among homeless people tends to occur at a relatively higher rate compared to normal ones. This unregular number of deaths is mainly due to higher rates of cancer, hepatitis, AIDS, and lack access to ordinally healthcare services (Evans, Collins & Anderson, 2016). Although homeless people are entitled to healthcare services in Canada, its quite challenging to access, comply, and follow up on treatment. Additionally, some barriers hinder healthcare delivery to the homeless, which include substance abuse, poverty, and lack of transportation, telephone, or a mailing address. As a result, homeless people are at times found dead in a public place or die just on arriving in hospital. Overall, policymakers ought to consider the situation of the homeless population while coming up with various healthcare delivery reforms.
There are different views concerning the factors that have contributed to the state of homelessness in the region. There are those who claim that homeless people are irresponsible and have brought the misfortune on themselves. More so, they argue that homelessness has nothing to do with the lack of low-income housing but rather is due to drug abuse, recklessness, and other avoidable circumstances. However, this argument is misguided largely because currently there are minimal low-income housing being constructed rents an old building are being demolished to be replaced with more luxuries ones which are more expensive (Gaetz, 2016). In effect, it’s quite difficult for destitute individuals to find cheap housing in Canada. Markedly, the rise in rents is a major problem that ought to be eliminated to solve the issue of homelessness in the country. Most importantly, one has to acknowledge that the essence of having low-income homes is to eliminate homelessness by providing affordable housing.
Low housing income brings about four major problems, including warehousing, abandonment, conversion of housing that was for the public to private housing, and gentrification ( Schiff et al., 2016). Notably, Abandonment is the situation whereby one withholds services or funds meant to maintain housing. More so, this can occur in the case where a landlord discontinues maintaining his rental houses. Also, it can occur at a community level when there is a reduction in public services or in the case of where housing is destroyed by fire. Separately, warehousing is where housing facilities are kept vacant even though they are on demand.
A good example is in the case where a building is warehoused by owner anticipating an increment in value to sell it at a higher price in the future. On a separate account, gentrification is where a neighborhood change can be associated with a rise in land and property value. In effect, poor households are replaced by new businesses, cultural establishment, or richer ones. Notably, it’s characterized by efforts to forcefully remove tenants through increases in rent and conversion to condominiums. Separately, redirecting public income meant for housing to private housing that is accessible to middle-income households leads to loss of low- income housing affecting the federally supported housing.
Homelessness in Canada is largely caused by unemployment. Although there are claims that suggest homeless people are unemployed because they are lazy in searching for work, this is not always true. Undeniably, it’s true in the case where people with the physical requirement to need to acquire a job choose to rely on Canada’s social welfare programs rather than getting jobs. Nonetheless, it’s untrue in cases where people are unemployed due to education, illness, and social status issues (Macnaughton et al., 2017). Unemployment is a major contributor to homelessness in Canada. Cleary, a large portion of those who are homeless are unable to find a stable source of income. Most importantly, the only practical way that homeless individuals can get out of shelters and streets is through steady employment that generates them an income which is hard to find due to unemployment. Therefore, the Canadian government has to make adequate efforts to somehow create adequate job opportunities for its citizens. These opportunities can be created through training programs that give homeless people skills needed to for them to start working, which would progressively decrease homeless individual in Canada.
The other major cause of homelessness in Canada is large cuts made to social welfare in the 1990s (Smith, 2017). In fact, the Canadian government eliminated requirements that demanded that each territory and province avail livable rates of social welfare to anyone in need. As a result, huge cuts were made to welfare rates, and it became difficult for one to be eligible as the eligibility rules were tightened. Most disturbingly, many provinces competed to offer minimal social assistance to prompt those in need to leave. A good example is in Alberta that offered free bus tickets to welfare recipients enticing them to leave the province. Besides, in 2002, the newly elected government comes up with welfare reforms that overtime prompted the removal of a significant allocation of funds to form the welfare rolls meant for various provinces (Smith, 2017). Collectively these activities have had the impact of leaving a significant number of people without homes due to a lack of means to afford the most modest housing. Consequently, many Canadians are homeless and rely on shelters, friends, and other sleep on the streets. Overall, cuts in resource directed towards social welfare efforts were quite essential in eradicating homelessness, and it was a miscalculation to cut welfare funds.
The other major factor that has contributed to the situation of homelessness in Canada is deinstitutionalization. Notably in the 1960s, there was a global movement that sorts the deinstitutionalization of people who were mentally ill hence this person was moved from asylums and other healthcare facilities and were released to the community (Kidd et al., 2018). Most interesting, the move was made due to studies that found that many institutionalized people could be a productive and healthy member in the society if they were provided with medication and proper care within the community. Markedly, the number of people confined in various institutions dramatically declined from approximately seventy thousand to about twenty thousand over a few decades. Although this led to great saving as a result of shutting down various institutions, this money was redirected to general government revenue rather than utilized for community care. Besides, no assurances were made to the thousands of people discharged, and hence, most of them could not access medication or health care services. Consequently, only about 15 percent of the people deinstitutionalized integrated into the communities while the rest become homeless. As a result, 40 percent of those people homeless today in Canada is the mentally ill people.
Separately, there are diverse views on how to reduce the number of homeless individuals on the streets. At the same time, there is the question of whether homeless people deserve aid or not. There are those that claim that homeless people ought to be evaluated and given aid depending on the merits of the situations. Thus, they advocate that the process of giving aid ought to be selective and discriminate against those who recklessly got themselves in those conditions. Notably, this group ague that there are many homeless people who refuse to get help and end up misusing the welfare funds by buying drugs and do not deserve any assistance. Nevertheless, homelessness is a problem that ought to be eliminated for everyone and is a huge obstacle to economic development in Canada (Evans, Collins & Anderson, 2016). The Canadians government need to find housing facilities for all people, including drug addicts as no one deserves to be homeless. Most importantly, the government needs to come with strategies of housing even those who misuse resources and ensuring that they have house security. The problem can be solved by sources for more welfare funds, which can be utilized to support the homeless and set up.
On the other hand, homelessness can be solved by the creation of income sources and affordable housing for the poor group ( Gaetz 2017). Homeless people should be equipped with skills and provided with work opportunities that can make them eligible for the job industry, which can be achieved through training programs. At the same time, the government can target homeless people and offer them with Job opportunities so that they can be able to sustain decent lifestyles (Macnaughton et al., 2017). More so, homeless people can be given opportunities to earn form less demanding work, such as providing waste management services, which include sorting out organic waste from other wastes. Also, collecting litter that is found beside roads, advertising, among other less demanding tasks that can generate them some income. These jobs would create constant revenue that would, in effect, get homeless people the money to pay house rents.
On the other hand, creating adequate and affordable e non-profit and government subsidized housing for the poor is essential. More so, considering that the current progressively increasing prices of rents across the country. This means that if the government does not create affordable houses, job opportunities and finds ways of reducing the level of poverty in the country the number of homeless people will keep on increasing (Gaetz, 2018). The problem with housing can be solved through housing initiatives that not only provide housing for the homeless but also give them employment and work experience. A good example is living solution initiative, an organization that offers homeless people houses, and an opportunity to build affordable houses. This initiative aims at empowering homeless people by requesting formerly homeless individuals to assist repair and maintain their homes (Gaetz, 2018). Consequently, residents in various households are responsible and handle household duties, including shopping, cleaning, cooking, and home maintenance. Overall, community, non- governmental and government initiative could go a long way in creating low-income housing for the homeless.
Conclusively, there are hundreds of thousands of homeless people in Canada who live in temporary shelters, in the street, subways and sleeping in places that are not meant for human accommodations. This group largely lacks the income to pay for decent accommodations mainly due to lack of employment. Additionally, homelessness is caused by unaffordable housing facilities, mainly due to the failure of the government to create low-income housing meant for the poor populations. At the same time, homelessness in brought about by poverty in Canada, which is prevalent in specific groups in Canada. Nonetheless, it was caused by the reduction of welfare services and social assistance resources meant to improve living condition in various provinces that left many residents without an income to afford modest accommodations. Besides, deinstitutionalization of people with mental conditions into the community that saw tens of thousands of people moved from asylums to be cared for in communities. This deinstitutionalization brought about many homeless people in the streets. Notably, adequate care and medication were not provided to the mentally ill, and thus, only a few of them were able to integrate with the community. However, the challenge with homelessness in Canada can be solved through the creation of low-income housing, creation of employment for the homeless people, affording adequate care to the homeless populations and setting aside a welfare service to improve conditions for its citizen.
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