Introduction
Homelessness is becoming a major concern across Canada, especially in the lower mainland. According to a recent government survey, it is estimated that over 250,000 people are homeless in the country (Kouyoumdjian et al., 2019). The number could be twice or three times higher than this estimate because of the huge number of people falling in the category of hidden homeless individuals. These are people offered temporary accommodation by relatives, friends, non-governmental entities, and government institutions. Doberstein (2016) explains that single men, mentally impaired individuals, mothers who are fleeing domestic violence, and aboriginals are more likely to be homeless in this country.
The problem is more common in major cities in the lower mainland such as Vancouver. The government first reported the existence of this social problem in the early 1980s, and efforts were made to address it. However, as the population in urban centers continues to grow, the problem has worsened. The number of people who have to spend their nights without any proper shelter is increasing, which is a worrisome trend for the government and many other stakeholders. In this paper, the researcher seeks to investigate the problem of homelessness in Canada and to provide potential solutions that can help in addressing it.
Sociological Causes of Homelessness
The Canadian government has been making heavy investments in the public housing sector to help in ensuring that all the residents of this country have access to decent affordable housing. However, the current statistics show that their effort has not been enough in effectively managing this problem. A huge number of people still have to spend cold nights in the streets because they lack any proper accommodation. In this section of the paper, it was necessary to look at the main sociological causes of homelessness in Canada.
Addiction Problems
One of the leading causes of homelessness among young unmarried men in major cities such as Vancouver is drug addiction. According to Schiff et al. (2020), a section of youth get addicted to hard drugs when they are still in school. When they are not assisted to overcome their addiction, it becomes difficult for them to lead normal lives. They find it difficult to maintain normal jobs because of their abnormal behavior after taking drugs. Most of them have to rely on menial jobs, or what Doberstein (2016) refers to as dead-end jobs. These are unskilled work that earns them minimum or sometimes below minimum wages.
The availability of these jobs is also not guaranteed. These addicts often tend to engage easily in criminal activities such as theft, burglary, drunk driving, sexual crimes, and robbery. Some of them engage in crime to get enough money to feed their addiction. Their criminal records make it difficult for them to get normal jobs. The little money they make is used to purchase these drugs. It means that they rarely have enough to pay for proper accommodation. Some of them find it difficult to get decent housing units because of their criminal records.
Domestic Violence
Single mothers were identified as a vulnerable group when it comes to the problem of homelessness in lower mainland Canada. According to Doberstein (2016), most of these women are fleeing domestic violence in their families. Wife battering and other domestic violence-related crimes are often underreported in the country. Most of the victims choose not to report these cases because they want to protect their families. Others fear losing their breadwinners in case they are found guilty and sent to prison. However, others choose to leave their spouses when they realize that their lives are in danger because of the physical abuses (Kouyoumdjian et al., 2019). To avoid child custody cases, they may choose to relocate to other urban centers where they cannot be followed.
In such a case, one can easily end up being homeless, especially when one are trying to find employment. In case they relied on their partner to provide for their needs, they may become homeless because of the loss of the sole breadwinner. Schiff et al. (2020) explain that such problems are more common among the less educated people with blue-collar jobs than they are among the highly educated members of the society. The blacks are also more likely to find themselves homeless because of the problem of domestic violence than whites.
Mental Illnesses
Mental illness is a major factor that leads to the problem of homelessness in Canada. The country has sufficient public and private facilities meant for people with mental health problems. However, those who benefit from these facilities are individuals who are taken by their loved ones. In private facilities, one has to pay to get the services that they need (Arnault & Merali, 2019). When one experiences mental illness problems and lacks a responsible friend or a family member who can take them to these facilities, chances are that they may end up in the streets. The government lacks policies that define how to deal with individuals considered to be suffering from mental health problems in the city streets. The general assumption is always that they are part of homeless individuals who are trying to find stable jobs. In such conditions, such an individual cannot get stable employment. The few who are lucky to have responsible family members will have a home where they can stay. Others are forced to spend their lives in the streets relying on what they get from well-wishers to survive.
Eroding Family Values
The growing cases of homelessness in Canada have partly been blamed on eroding family values. Traditionally, it was common for family members to ensure that they provide for their loved ones who are in financial distress (Wong et al., 2020). One would stay with a brother, a sister, or a cousin when they lose their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. However, such practices are becoming less common in the country as individualism continues to gain relevance in society. People are currently focused on meeting their personal needs and that of their immediate family members. They are less concerned about the financial challenges that their extended family members go through.
The loss of family support that helped to eliminate or at least reduce homelessness in the past has led to cases where people are forced into the streets as soon as they lose their income. Some scholars have attributed the trend to the increasing cost of living in the country, especially in some of the major urban centers (Bardwell et al., 2019). People cannot afford to take care of their extended family members because of the challenges they also face when trying to provide for their own families.
Reasons Why Homelessness Persists in Canada
The sociological factors discussed above are not the only reasons why homelessness persists in Canada. As Gaetz et al. (2018) observe, the government has made an effort to address this problem through various strategies. Building affordable housing units has been one of the strategies that have been used to address the problem. The government has also partnered with private sector players to promote the construction of residential houses for people. Although these measures have helped in mitigating the problem, it has not eliminated it. Some of these problems are economic. The following are some of the main reasons why homelessness persists in Canada, especially in the lower mainland.
Dwindling Employment Opportunities
Canada is one of the countries with the lowest employment rates in the world. A report by Doberstein (2016) shows that many programs that many provinces have put in place have created employment in various sectors of the economy from agriculture, manufacturing, and finance to transport, communication, entertainment, and education sectors. However, the country has been experiencing a growing number of immigrants from Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa who are looking for better opportunities (Kouyoumdjian et al., 2019). Immigration is causing strain on the available employment opportunities.
Some of these immigrants have higher academic qualifications than the locals. They are also comfortable with lower salaries because it is better than what they can get in their home countries. It creates a situation where even the locals have to struggle to get employment. Some of these immigrants are unable to speak fluently in English or French, which are the dominant languages in the country. These immigrants find it difficult to get proper employment because of the language barrier that they face. Lack of employment for both the locals and immigrants remains a major cause of employment in the country.
The Growing Gap between the Rich and the Poor
The gap between the haves and have-nots is increasingly growing big in the country. Although systemic racism is not a major problem in the country, the government has created a system where people can accumulate wealth without any restrictions. The middle class finds themselves struggling to make ends meet because of the high cost of living. On one side, the rich find it easy to invest their money in projects that earn them even greater income. On the other side, the poor find it difficult to meet their basic needs such as housing. As a capitalist nation, the rich are using their power to help them become even richer.
In cities such as Vancouver, many people in the middle class have been pushed out of their apartments because of the increasing prices. Many landlords are embracing the negative practice of finding reasons to convince their tenants to leave their premises so that they can increase the rent (Arnault & Merali, 2019). Those who make a decent income in the financial or entertainment sectors do not find it difficult paying such increased fees. However, teachers and other middle-class people whose salaries do not increase significantly every year struggle to pay for these houses. They are relegated to city suburbs where they can get affordable housing. Others have lost their jobs because they cannot get proper accommodation near their workplaces. As this trend continues, the rich are expanding their wealth while the poor are becoming more destitute.
Reduced Public Assistance
The Canadian government has had numerous programs meant to help people who are unable to meet their basic needs because of financial challenges. However, the unprecedented growth in the population of some of these cities has made it difficult for the government to meet everyone’s needs. The rate at which people are becoming homeless is a lot greater than the capacity of the government to offer them housing assistance (Wong et al., 2020). Another challenge that the government is facing is identifying those who are genuinely in need of housing support. Some individuals would apply for such assistance while in reality, they can pay.
These challenges have led to cases where individuals who are genuinely in need of these services are denied the opportunity to get support from the government. The decision by the government to use public-private partnership is another means that even if the housing units are affordable, one has to pay to get accommodation. Those who lack stable income may be rendered homeless even if there is affordable housing in the country. Table 1 below identifies some of the cities where the problem of homelessness is growing rapidly.
Potential Solutions to Homelessness in Canada
The government has a responsibility to address the problem of homelessness in Canada. Working together with other entities in the country, it can take various initiatives to ensure that everyone has affordable housing irrespective of their economic condition. The following are some of the steps that can help address this problem, especially in the lower midland.
Addressing the Problem of Poverty in the Country
One of the best ways of addressing the problem of homelessness in Canada’s lower midland is to eliminate poverty. As Schiff et al. (2020) note, it is in the interest of many people to have a decent home. However, a section of the society finds themselves struggling to have access to such services because they lack proper employment. The government should focus on empowering the private sector so that they can offer meaningful employment to Canadians and other permanent residents. Fighting drug trafficking and use is another way through which the government can empower its citizens. As shown in the discussion above, drug addicts find it difficult to maintain their jobs. Accessibility and usage of these drugs should be made as difficult as possible, especially in institutions of higher learning. The strategy will help in ensuring that those who graduate from these institutions are responsible citizens who can lead responsible lives and protect their jobs. They will be less likely to end up in homeless shelters as long as they get employment.
Increase Homeownership in the Country
The government can increase homeownership in the country through various programs. One of the ways is to partner with financial institutions to ensure that people can have subsidized interest rates on their mortgages. This strategy will incentivize many people who are in stable employment to embrace homeownership as a way of securing their future (Gaetz et al., 2018). It will eliminate the fear that many people may have, especially after the recent housing crisis in the United States. Another strategy may be to offer grants to private institutions that offer housing for mentally impaired persons. These institutions can use the money to expand their housing facilities to accommodate more people. The government should invest in creating awareness about the significance of homeownership among those in stable employment.
Increase Public Housing Services
The government can consider increasing public housing services in major cities across the country. Since 1980, the government has been running a program meant to increase the number of housing units every year. However, it has become apparent that the rate at which public housing is increasing is significantly lower than the growth of the demand. It is necessary to increase these houses to reduce the number of those who are homeless. Another strategy is to introduce policies that can limit the ability of landlords to increase the amount that people pay as rent without a proper guideline. Such a policy will eliminate cases where these landlords evict tenants only for them to increase the rent and have a new resident. The government can even consider subsidizing the rent by eliminating some of the tax that owners of these rental facilities have to pay to ensure that they charge affordable prices.
Increase Homeless Shelters
The government of Canada has homeless shelters for those who are unable to find accommodation for various reasons. However, these facilities can only accommodate about 550,000 people, compared with over 3 million people that can be accommodated in the United States (Doberstein, 2016). In most cases, priority is often given to women with young children because they are considered most vulnerable. Single men are the least likely to get accommodated at these facilities. The government should work with non-governmental facilities to ensure that the number of these facilities is increased. The strategy will help those who are jobless and those whose income cannot allow them to live in the subsidized housing facilities.
Redefining Social Values
Solving the problem of homelessness in the country cannot be the sole responsibility of the government. Other stakeholders also have a major role to play in ensuring that as many people as possible are properly accommodated. One of the strategies of doing so is to redefine social values. Cases, where people abandon their elderly parents, have been identified as one of the causes of homelessness. There is a need to redefine social values so that people can understand the value of taking care of their parents. If possible, they should stay with them, especially when these aging parents have no home, to reduce congestion in some of the homeless shelters in the country. Communal values where people make an effort to assist their loved ones in any way possible when they are facing financial challenges may also help.
Conclusion
Homelessness in Canada is becoming a major concern to the government and stakeholders in the private sector. Housing in major cities in the lower midland is becoming unaffordable even to the middle class. Addiction, domestic violence, mental illnesses, and eroding family values have been identified as some of the major causes of homelessness in the country. The discussion above shows that solving this problem requires the attention of many stakeholders. The government has a major role to play. It must fund the construction of additional housing units every year. It can also create incentives for private developers to increase the supply as a way of managing the growing demand. Families and non-governmental institutions also have a role to play in addressing this problem.
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