What is Homelessness?

Homelessness - simply defined - is the absence of a place to live. A person who has no regular place to live stays in an overnight emergency shelter, an abandoned building, an all-night coffee shop or theatre, a car, outdoors, or other such places not meant to be living spaces.

Who are the Homeless?

• The long-term or "chronically" homeless person – the individuals we see on our streets – represent less than 20% of the homeless population. 
• The tens of thousands of currently homeless Canadians are a diverse mix of young and old, families with children, couples and single people. 
• Families with children are the fastest growing group of homeless people.
• About a third of homeless people live with some form of mental health issue.
• Both the numbers of homeless people and the length of time they are homeless are increasing dramatically.

Why do people become homeless?

The reasons are complex. The basic cause is poverty. Underlying causes include:

• poor physical or mental health;
• violence or abuse in the home;
• lack of employment or an income; and
• a shortage of affordable housing.

It’s not by choice

No one chooses to be homeless and it can happen to anyone, for example:

• a teenager escaping an abusive care giver;
• a senior citizen on a fixed income facing a rent or tax increase;
• a child whose parents suddenly become unemployed.

Fast Facts on Homelessness

Who are Canada’s Homeless?

• Some non-governmental sources estimate Canada’s true homeless population, not just those living in emergency shelters, to be between 200,000 and 300,000. (“Homelessness”, The Globe and Mail, June 12, 2006; National Housing and Homeless Network in Laird, op.cit., page 4)
• At any time during the year as many as 65,000* youth are without a place to call home. (*As reported in Raising the Roof’s report Youth Homelessness in Canada: The Road to Solutions, 2009)
• Several studies have found that youth experiencing homelessness have disproportionately been involved in child protection services or foster care in their lives. This number ranges from close to 30% to 49% (Clarke & Cooper, 2000; Leslie & Hare, 2000; McCarthy, 1995; Kaus & Dowling, 2003; Raising the Roof, 2009).  
• The tens of thousands of people who are currently experiencing homelessness are a diverse mix of young and old, families with children, couples and single people (Laird, 2007; Hulchanski, J. D., Campsie, P., Chau, S. B.Y., Hwang, S. W., Paradis. E. Homelessness: What’s in a Word? (2009). In D. J. Hulchanski, P. Campsie, S. Chau, S. Hwang, E. Paradis (Eds.), Finding Home: Policy Options for Addressing Homelessness in Canada (e-book). Toronto: Cities Centre, University of Toronto. www.homelesshub.ca/FindingHome
• As the number of people experiencing homelessness has grown, so have the reasons for homelessness – poverty and lack of affordable housing have surpassed substance abuse and mental illness as the leading causes of homelessness (Snow, D., 2008. A Roof Over Our Heads 2008: Affordable Housing and Homelessness in Canada. Canada West Foundation, as cited in Laird, 2007)