HOUSING AGAIN • Bulletin
Number 91 May 2, 2006
The Housing Again Bulletin, sponsored by Raising the Roof
as a partner
in Housing Again.
A monthly electronic bulletin highlighting what people are doing to
put
housing back on the public agenda in Ontario, across Canada and
around the
world.
Our web sites are:
Housing
Again
http://www.housingagain.web.net>
Shared Learnings on Homelessness
http://www.sharedlearnings.org
Raising the Roof
http://www.raisingtheroof.org/
If you have any tips for the Bulletin please
e-mail:
annemarie.aikins@gmail.com or
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In
this Issue:
Feature: Counting the
Homeless
Community Profile: The Street Culture Kidz Project
Inc.
News Briefs: Recognizing Programs
that Support Homeless or At-risk Youth; RBC Partnership; and Women Ask U.N. to Declare
Homelessness a Violation of Human Rights
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Feature:
Counting the Homeless
After years of debate, the City of Toronto conducted its first-ever “homeless count” on April 19. More than 1,900 volunteers undertook the one-night, $90,000 survey in an attempt to find out how many people are living on the streets in Canada’s largest urban centre, and what kind of services they need. www.toronto.ca Many housing activists, however, felt the census was unnecessary and destined to fail for many reasons. But this wasn’t the first attempt in Canada to count the homeless. Similar surveys have been conducted in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, which all found the number of homeless was much higher than expected.
The City of Calgary has conducted
a census of homeless persons every two years since 1992. The last count in 2004 found that on any given night more
than 2,000 people were living on the street or accessing shelters and/or
services. Each year, the level of detail of the information collected
about homeless persons has increased. Now the data includes age, gender, race,
families, and child welfare status of youth staying in shelters. Institutional
data is also collected on the bed capacity of the facilities surveyed.
www.calgary.ca www.homelessawareness.ca
Advocates in Calgary have said
that the counts tend to underestimate the actual number of homeless persons in
the downtown core. The counts, however, do serve two very useful functions,
advocates agree. They provide a more current snapshot of the city’s homeless
population, its size and characteristics and examine how this population changes
over time. www.calgaryhomeless.com/bs_product.html?GID=166
In 2005, the homeless count in the City of Vancouver found a significant growth in the number of homeless counted region-wide, almost doubling to 2,174 from 1,121 persons in 2002. The report, which was co-ordinated by the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., found 47 per cent of homeless people on the street had been homeless for a year or more. Seventy-four per cent of those counted had one or more health conditions such as an addiction, mental illness or a physical disability. The count also identified that Aboriginal people were over-represented among the region’s homeless. www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/housing/pdf/homelesscount05/pdf
Over the years, the homeless count of the Research Committee of the Edmonton Joint Planning Committee on Housing Research identified gaps in the system of supports for homeless persons, homelessness risk factors, and homelessness prevention and intervention strategies, policies and programs. The committee, however, is currently reviewing the methodology that has been used in Edmonton’s previous homeless counts. While the current approach can provide a year-to-year trend, the committee is exploring ways to improve the overall accuracy of the actual count in preparation for the 2006 homeless count. http://www.moresafehomes.net/initiatives_main.htm
Toronto opponents say the homeless count is unnecessary because the needs of the homeless are obvious and that any attempt to count street people will fail due to “insurmountable methodological flaws.” They are also concerned that the count will not include the concealed homeless, at-risk of homelessness and inadequately housed—all significant populations.
“The rationale for research on
determining the extent of a particular problem is to provide the public and
policy makers some knowledge so as to define the appropriate magnitude of the
intervention,” said David Hulchanski
in a submission to Toronto councillors. “In the case of homelessness, we already
know enough about the magnitude of the problem. It is huge compared to the
current magnitude of federal and provincial efforts to address the problem.” Hulchanski is the co-author of a 1995 study for the
federal government, “Estimating Homelessness: Towards a Methodology for Counting
the Homeless in Canada”
www.cmhc.ca
Toronto officials say the survey
is needed to understand the depth of the problem of homelessness. The city says
it has representatives from 34 community agencies and various municipal
divisions involved through the Street Outreach Steering Committee. Findings from
the survey will be sent to the Community Services Committee and then on to full
council by July.
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|
NEWS
BRIEFS:
Recognizing Programs that Support Homeless
or At-risk Youth
As part of its Youthworks initiative, Raising the Roof is encouraging Housing Again readers to forward information regarding important initiatives and programs that support homeless or at-risk youth. The programs would be highlighted in upcoming bulletins and/or on the Shared Learnings website. Please send information to richard@raisingtheroof.org
RBC
Partnership
Raising the Roof is pleased to welcome RBC Foundation as a major partner in its Shared Learnings on Homelessness initiative. RBC joins founding partner Direct Energy in making possible this important Web-based resource for networking and information sharing within the homelessness/housing sector. RBC Financial Group has been a major supporter of Raising the Roof since 1998, playing a critical role in the success of its national Toque Tuesday fundraising campaign, as well as in the overall growth and development of the organization.
Women Ask U.N. to Declare Homelessness a
Violation of Human Rights
A group of women who are homeless and under-housed
are going all the way to Geneva, Switzerland to ask the United Nations to
declare homelessness in Canada a violation of human rights. A member of
FORWARD, a group based
at a Toronto drop-in centre for women who are homeless, will address the United
Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN CESCR) on May 1.
“We won’t be silenced,” said Doreen
Silversmith, who will
represent FORWARD at the UN. “We are speaking out about homelessness and
poverty. Canada’s international reputation is one of wealth, equality and
respect for human rights. We wish this were the case. It is time to expose
Canada for the marginalization and degradation of poor women that happens here
every day,” commented Silversmith.
To view copies of FORWARD’s report to UN CESCR visit: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/info-ngos/forward.pdf
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