Did you Know ?

• Homelessness affects tens of thousands of Canadians and has important health implications
• Homeless people are at increased risk of dying prematurely
• Homeless people suffer from a wide range of health problems, including seizures, chronic pulmonary disease, musculoskeletal disorders, tuberculosis
• Homeless people face significant barriers that impair their access to health care

WHO ARE THE HOMELESS?

The Homeless Coalition has adopted the following definition of homelessness
Homelessness includes: those who are “visible” on the streets or staying in shelters; those who have been homeless in the recent past and continue to be at risk; those who live in housing that is unsafe, unsuitable, over-crowded, illegal, temporary, transitional; or those at imminent risk of losing their housing.

A person is considered Homeless who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and has a primary nighttime residence that is:

1. supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations
2. an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
3. a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

• Shelter counts underestimate the number of homeless people because they do not include individuals who are sleeping on the street. These individuals are particularly difficult to count, but represent a sizable population in some cities.
• Single men constitute the largest segment of homeless people in most Canadian cities. Homeless men tend to be relatively young, with the majority between 25 and 44 years old.
• Single women are more likely to be chronically homeless, older and to have a history of substance abuse or mental illness.
• The terms “homeless youth” and “street youth” are used interchangeably to refer to teenagers and young people below the age of 20-25 years. These young people first leave home at a mean age of 15 years, and many come from families where they experience physical or sexual abuse. Because most of these young people do not sleep in homeless shelters, this population is greatly underestimated.
• Aboriginal people are overrepresented in Canada’s homeless population by a factor of about 10. A disproportionate number of homeless people who sleep on the street rather than in shelters are of Aboriginal origin.
• Families with children are also homeless. This population has increased steadily in the larger cities and may be as a result of multiple factors, including poverty, high housing costs, increased energy costs and shortage of subsidized public housing units.