The Problem of Homelessness in Canada

Introduction

Homelessness is a common societal issue in Canada and many other developing nations. Every year, about 235,000 people in Canada experience this aspect of homelessness and between 25,000 and 35,000 individuals might be homeless on any particular night.¹ Homelessness is defined as multiple situations, like staying in unsuitable places for humans’ habitation, living in emergency shelters, staying on the streets, staying as a hidden homeless individual with family members, strangers or friends. It can also include staying in rooming houses, motels, in hostels and living in precarious housing.² It is critical for planning and policy to understand the makeup of this group if homelessness is expanding and where homelessness is an issue. This paper will discuss the aspect of homelessness in Canada. The paper starts by analyzing critical issues that entail to the homelessness in Canada by the support of reliable data, description of the condition by the use of theoretical framework alongside measure to avoid the problem.

Literature Review on Homelessness in Canada

The allocation of resources to prevent homelessness ought to be founded on sound data to optimize the effect of limited resources, according to research by Ferreira and Laila (2021). Additionally, policymakers must be quick and sensitive to changes in homelessness trends. When data are obtained infrequently and are not representative, it is exceedingly difficult to make proper program and service choices. The universal nature of medical care in Canada and the emergency department (ED) is a primary point of interaction for those faced with homelessness. One option might be to leverage data from all ED visits to better follow this demographic.³ Additionally, policymakers must understand whether homelessness is an issue to direct resources toward decreasing its prevalence. This will help to ensure proper justification of the resources directed towards reduction of the homelessness across Canada and other states across the globe. These findings highlight two critical points concerning the Canada’s location of homelessness. As shown in various sources, Toronto is the epicenter of the homelessness in Ontario’s. However, in the course of the research period, homelessness is regarded to have grown less concentrated geographically. At the start of 2010, the percentage of homeless persons in Toronto was nearly 60% of Ontario’s total number of individuals.⁴

According to Falvo and Nick (2022), estimating the number of homeless persons in Canada has been a matter of contention for years. The Homelessness Partnering Secretariat (HPS) has often cited an estimate between 150,000 and 300,000 people experiencing homelessness in Canada each year, with activists frequently using the higher figure.⁵ However, there has never been a systematic, organized, or sustained attempt in Canada to count the homeless. Fortunately, there has been a noteworthy change in things in the aspect of homelessness. Increasingly cities around the country are using point-in-time counts to ascertain the total number of persons facing homelessness on any given night and are gathering more accurate data on shelter use. The Government of Canada published “The National Shelter Study: Emergency Shelter Use in Canada 2005–2009” in 2013, providing people with credible shelter data for the first time to establish a national estimate of homelessness. The Government of Canada’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy issued its second national study of emergency shelter statistics in the autumn of 2016, according to Kidd et al. (2019).⁶

Theory of Class Conflict

Class conflict, sometimes known as class warfare or class struggle, is the economic and political hostility in society due to socioeconomic competition between the affluent and poor or between social classes. In terms of homelessness, this theory asserts that capitalism is the main reason that causes homelessness in Canada.⁷ The conflict theory may explain capitalism’s involvement in homelessness since it assumes the existence of two groups in society: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. According to this theory, company owners misuse their workers by failing to provide them with some of the basic human needs such as food and shelter these employees have a conviction that they are being taken care of adequately and implicitly depend on the owners of the business to look after them. According to the class conflict theory, the bourgeoisie lacks the working class’s best interests at heart. Their only objective is to collect money by all means that they deem necessary. According to this theory, money is acquired in a capitalist community through persistence, hard labor, and, most crucially, education.⁸ The well-off individuals see the poor and homeless as uninspired, ignorant, and desperate for handouts. Karl Marx considered that this mode of thought (the conflict theory) was a kind of false consciousness. According to this theory, social problems such as the issue of homelessness are a direct consequence of a person’s personality faults and defects, not of societal flaws. This idea explains the aspects of capitalism and homelessness because the people who are less fortunate compared to those in wealth and financial comfort positions hold continual outrage.

By applying theory to the study of homelessness and poverty, people may better understand these social concerns. Additionally, it allows individuals to grasp people’s difficulties in the context of society’s more significant economic and political components. Utilizing theory enables folks to think critically about situations that are sometimes oversimplified. Conflict theory may be used to explain the reasons why individuals end up being homeless. Karl Max created this theory, which states that the universe is constantly varying due to conflict. It views social interactions as competitive. According to this notion, individuals compete for scarce resources such as money and free time.⁹ Competition for scarce resources has a significant role in all social interactions. Human interactions are characterized by competition rather than consensus. Other social institutions and organizations, such as religions and the government, mimic the fight for resources and the inherent inequality it involves; certain individuals and groups possess more resources and influence and utilize them to maintain their positions and power. Typically, sociologists use this theory to investigate the allocation of resources, energy, and inequality.

Conclusion

There are several methods to address and assist with homelessness nowadays, but many individuals do not have the time. Homelessness is often misrepresented, and misconceptions make it incredibly difficult to assist individuals in need. People may contribute to resolving this societal problem by being aware of the numerous pathways to homelessness. Each person on the street has their tale. Specific individuals suffer from addiction. Others have lost everything owing to financial difficulties; others are afflicted with mental diseases. People must educate themselves on these issues and share the word for others to comprehend. It is also critical that individuals take the necessary actions and that the community and organizations do. Whether it is a church, a school, or a non-profit organization, the community plays a critical role in assisting those experiencing homelessness.

Bibliography

Falvo, Nick. “Special Issue–Homelessness in Canada.” International Journal on Homelessness 2, no. 1 (2022): 1-5.

Ferreira, Laila. “A Genre Analysis of Social Change: Uptake of the Housing-First Solution to Homelessness in Canada.” Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie 31 (2021): 75-78.

Kidd, Sean A., Jesse Thistle, Tera Beaulieu, Bill O’Grady, and Samuel Gaetz. “A national study of Indigenous youth homelessness in Canada.” Public Health 176 (2019): 163-171.

Murphy, Erin Roark. “Transportation and homelessness: A systematic review.” Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless 28, no. 2 (2019): 96-105.

Footnotes

1. Ferreira, Laila. “A Genre Analysis of Social Change: Uptake of the Housing-First Solution to Homelessness in Canada.” Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie 31 (2021): 75-78.
2. Ferreira, 77.
3. Ferreira, 78.
4. Falvo, Nick. “Special Issue–Homelessness in Canada.” International Journal on Homelessness 2, no. 1 (2022): 1-5.
5. Falvo, 4.
6. Kidd, Sean A., Jesse Thistle, Tera Beaulieu, Bill O’Grady, and Samuel Gaetz. “A national study of Indigenous youth homelessness in Canada.” Public Health 176 (2019): 163-171.
7. Kidd, 167.
8. Murphy, Erin Roark. “Transportation and homelessness: A systematic review.” Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless 28, no. 2 (2019): 96-105.
9. Ferreira, Laila. “A Genre Analysis of Social Change: Uptake of the Housing-First Solution to Homelessness in Canada.” Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie 31 (2021): 75-78.