What are the solutions?

The causes of homelessness are indeed complex. But, there are solutions.

All homeless people have one thing in common - a lack of housing. The gap between the cost of adequate housing and the income available to pay for it is too large for many individuals and families. Though we can debate what has caused the dramatic increase in the number of people without housing, access to housing is still the first step in dealing with the problem. Until people find a safe, secure, affordable home, and have stability where they live, they cannot achieve stability where they work, where their children go to school and where they find support.

There are three components to addressing homelessness:

• All Canadians require adequate, affordable housing.
• All need enough money to live on (jobs, job training, adequate income).
• Some men, women and youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless need support services - some including for health and mental health problems, some to overcome substance abuse, and some to simply recover from a long period of being houseless.

These practical supports include job search assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing support services, job training, education, physical and mental health care, and the provision of shelter tied to transitional and permanent affordable housing for people who would otherwise be on the streets.

Click on the Stories button on the right to see examples of these types of community-based solutions in action.

Prevention is a key part of the solution. And, we must have a national strategy to address and prevent homelessness, accompanied by local strategies which complement and implement the national approach.

To address the root causes, Canada, its provinces and its municipalities must to address poverty and affordable housing problems. Because poverty is one of the root causes of homelessness, developing strategies for adequate social assistance benefits, and job training and employment options are critical for long-term solutions. The strategies must also address rental housing market options, social housing options, effective prevention of discrimination in the housing and job markets, specialized services for people with mental illness, chemical dependencies and other problems, and adequate settlement services for newcomers.

Raising the Roof fosters the involvement of governments, businesses, community and faith groups, service providers and homeless people to work on developing national strategies to address homelessness and implement the specific solutions that will help end homelessness in Canada. As part of this mandate, we are dedicated to funding and working with community-based agencies with experience in developing local solutions for people who find themselves unable to afford the basic necessity of a place to call home.

Photo credits: Raising the Roof.