Transcript Homelessness in Toronto (1999)

Homelessness in Toronto (1999):
Who Are They?
• Hostel users: 71% male, 29% female
• 26,000 people used Toronto hostels in 1996
• 3,200 people use hostels on any given night
(the number is higher in the winter)
• 170,000 used shelters between 1988 -1996
• Fastest growing group of hostel users are
youth under the age of 18 and families with
children
Homelessness in Toronto (1999):
Who Are They?
• 1988: 24% of households in hostel system
were headed by women
• 1996: 37% of households in hostel system
were headed by women
• 5,300 children were homeless in 1996 (that
constitutes 19% of the homeless population)
• Between 30-35% of homeless are mentally ill
• An estimated 75% of homeless, single
women are mentally ill
Homelessness in Toronto (1999):
Who Are They?
• 4,400 people in 1996 (17% of hostel users) stayed in
the hostel system one or more years
• This chronic group occupies 46% of the hostel beds
• 47% of hostel users come from outside of Toronto
• >100,000 people are on the waiting list for social
housing in Toronto
• >31,000 children are on the waiting list—at current
placement rate, families would have to wait 17 years
to obtain housing
• Poverty is increasing for those on the waiting list,
>1/3 have incomes <$800/month
Child Poverty in Toronto
• Incidence of child poverty in Toronto is double that of
the rest of Ontario
• More than one in three children in Toronto are poor
(37.7% of children under 12 yrs.)
• 15,000 children are waiting for subsidized child care
spaces, 21,500 more spaces are needed for the
Ontario Works programme
• The number of children in need of food relief in
Toronto has almost doubled from 32,000 in 1989 to
more than 60,000 in 1998
Causes of Homelessness
• Increased poverty
• Lack of affordable housing
• Deinstitutionalization and lack of discharge
planning
• Social factors (e.g., domestic violence,
physical & sexual abuse, alienation of
individuals from families & friends)
Prevention Strategies
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Shelter allowances for the working poor
Rent banks for short-term loans
Databases of affordable housing
Legal assistance
Enforce anti-discrimination legislation
Welfare recipients need funding for first & last
month’s rent.
• Individual support & counselling
• Community economic development
Homelessness in Girls & Young Women
(data from Novac, Serge, Eberle & Brown, 2002)
• Among a sample of Ottawa shelter users, more
young women than men cited parental abuse as the
reason for homelessness (25% vs. 11%) or had been
abused (31% vs. 14%)
• 2,150 single women (out of a total of 6,310 youth)
used Toronto shelters in 1999. The total number of
shelter beds increased by almost 600 beds from
December 2000 to February 2001, totaling 3,075
beds (plus another 169 places available through the
Out of the Cold Program and another 90 during cold
weather alerts).
Homelessness in Girls & Young Women
(data from Novac, Serge, Eberle & Brown, 2002)
• A Montreal study found:
– More females than males stayed with
relatives/friends. Fewer females than males were
on the street—they used personal networks to
avoid visible homelessness
– More females than males engaged in prostitution
– Most of the younger females had prior
involvement with the child welfare system
– Early school leaving was common (half the
females 18-25 had not finished high school)
Homelessness in Girls & Young Women
(data from Novac, Serge, Eberle & Brown, 2002)
• Montreal study:
– Family poverty only moderately associated with
homelessness (the majority reported that their families did
not have financial problems)
– Over-representation of aboriginal youth
– Illicit activities were common (e.g. drug dealing, shoplifting,
etc.)
– More young women than men had no source of income
(44% vs. 5%). They were less likely than men to have
received financial assistance from relatives (3% vs. 23%) or
received social assistance (36% vs. 48%)
Health Issues
• Homeless youth are more likely to have problems
with:
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Respiratory tract infections
STDs
Skin infections
Substance abuse
Trauma
Hepatitis B infections
HIV/AIDS
Dental disease
Pregnancy
Health Issues
• A Toronto study found that more than half of female
street youth had attempted suicide and suffered from
clinical depression.
• A Montreal study found 35% of homeless youth had
attempted suicide, 63% reported suicidal thoughts,
and 9% reported severe depression.
• Alcohol and drug use were higher in a Toronto
sample of homeless youth than in a nonhomeless
group.
• A Calgary study found that 71% of homeless youth
were involved in delinquency (stealing, burglary,
shoplifting).
Group Exercise
• What recommendations would you add to
Anne Golden’s report? And why?
– E.g., new/more programs? what kind? why?
– E.g., new/more facilities? what kind? why?