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Homelessness is a global challenge.

The United Nations Human Settlements Program estimates that 1.1 billion people live in inadequate housing, and the best data available suggest that more than 100 million people have no housing at all.

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Homelessness and Emergency Services in Nipissing District. A HIFIS Data Report for 2014 (infographic)

David Plumstead

A snapshot of homelessness and emergency services based on 2014 HIFIS data.

Using network projections to explore co-incidence and context in large clinical datasets: application to homelessness among U.S. veterans

Network projections of data can provide an efficient format for data exploration of co-incidence in large, clinical datasets. This study presents and explores the utility of a network projection approach to finding patterns in health care data that could be exploited to prevent homelessness among U.S. Veterans. The study split Veteran ICD-9-CM data into two time periods (0-59 and 60-364 days prior to the first evidence of...

Integrated social housing and health care for homeless and marginally-housed individuals: a study of the housing and homelessness steering committee in Ontario, Canada

Kristy Buccieri

Homelessness is a complex social issue that requires a coordinated systems approach. In recent years, Canada has seen an emergence of integrated care, the joining of health care and social care, to address the needs of homeless persons. This article documents the findings of open-ended interviews with eleven members of the central east Ontario Housing and Homelessness Framework Steering Committee, comprised of service...

Housing First as an effective model for community stabilization among vulnerable individuals with chronic and nonchronic homelessness histories

Housing First (HF) is an effective intervention for reducing homelessness and service utilization among vulnerable adults and is most often focused on individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. This study explored the effectiveness of a single‐site HF program for 2 groups of people with serious mental illness: those experiencing chronic street homelessness, and those whose homelessness was limited but had high psychiatric...

A computer-assisted motivational social network intervention to reduce alcohol, drug and HIV risk behaviors among Housing First residents

David P. Kennedy

corresponding author Sarah B. Hunter

Individuals transitioning from homelessness to housing face challenges to reducing alcohol, drug and HIV risk behaviors. To aid in this transition, this study developed and will test a computer-assisted intervention that delivers personalized social network feedback by an intervention facilitator trained in motivational interviewing (MI). The intervention goal is to enhance motivation to reduce high risk alcohol and other...

High-risk smoking behaviors and barriers to smoking cessation among homeless individuals

Although tobacco practices and the effects of tobacco use among the general American population are well described, minimal data exist regarding tobacco use and barriers to smoking cessation among homeless individuals. Anonymous, voluntary surveys based on a previously implemented instrument were completed by 100 smoking individuals residing at a homeless shelter. These surveys assessed high-risk smoking behaviors and...

Disaster Response for Homeless Individuals and Families: A Trauma-Informed Approach

People experiencing homelessness typically have limited resources and likely have past exposure to traumatic events. Therefore, they may be at higher risk of adverse physical and psychological reactions following a public health emergency or disaster. Trauma-informed approaches can help disaster responders effectively serve homeless individuals and families. A trauma-informed approach to disaster response acknowledges past...

4.5 System Planning: A Case Study of the Calgary Homeless Foundation’s System Planning Framework

Katrina Milaney

Turner in 2014 described system planning within a Housing First context as “a method of organizing and delivering service, housing and programs that coordinates diverse resources to ensure that efforts align with homelessness-reduction goals” (p. 7). In this chapter I take up this understanding of system planning and apply it to a case study of CHF’s System Planning Framework (CHF, 2014), a tool created as one component of...

3.9 An Evaluation of the London Community Addiction Response Strategy (London CAReS): Facilitating Service Integration Through Collaborative Best Practices

Homelessness in Canada has been on the rise since the 1980s. In 2006, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made a number of recommendations for the federal, provincial and territorial governments of Canada to address homelessness and inadequate housing as a “national emergency”(United Nations, 2006). Research has repeatedly found that individuals with addictions and mental illnesses are...

2.1 Women First: An Analysis of a Trauma-informed, Women-centred, Harm Reduction Housing Model for Women with Complex Substance Use and Mental Health Issues

Chelsea Kirkby

Kathryn Mettler

While estimating homelessness in Canada has been difficult, it is believed at least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness each year. What is often missing from research into homelessness in Canada is identification of the specific situations and needs of women experiencing homelessness. This paper identifies the complexity and specific issues for women experiencing homelessness, and presents two different supportive...

1.1 Coordinated Access and Assessment: Calgary, Alberta

Jerilyn Dressler

The purpose of this research process was to document the Coordinated Access and Assessment (CAA) program’s formative process, and to inform the ongoing development of the CAA in Calgary. Data collection included participant observation at CAA’s storefront location, in relevant internal meetings at the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF), and at Placement Committee meetings where clients are matched to programs. It included an...

Exploring Effective Systems Responses to Homelessness

This book was produced with strategic intentions: our goal is to leverage collective expertise to produce an evidence base that supports policy and government decision makers, community organizers, institutional leaders (e.g. managers and directors) and funders to conceptualize, plan for and implement coordinated efforts to end homelessness in Canada. We see efforts to coordinate services, policies and governance strategies...

3. Contrast

Cheryl Duggan

DAYLIGHT SERENE PUBLIC PLACE No COST FOR ADMISSION at night unseen private space guaranteed eviction

Stories

100,000 Homes Campaign

A Enelow

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Homelessness is Only One Piece of My Puzzle: Implications for Policy and Practice

100,000 Homes Campaign

A Conde-Martel

Have you ever experienced homelessness? Would you like to create change by sharing some of your story? Would you like to tell people who make decisions, people who provide services to you and others who have experienced homelessness about what is and is not working? These questions were posed to people with lived experiences of homelessness. Their responses are showcased in this book and provide a small window into what it...

Differential experiences of discrimination among ethnoracially diverse persons experiencing mental illness and homelessness

This mixed methods study explored the characteristics of and experiences with perceived discrimination in an ethnically diverse urban sample of adults experiencing homelessness and mental illness. Data were collected in Toronto, Ontario, as part of a 4-year national randomized field trial of the Housing First treatment model. Rates of perceived discrimination were captured from survey questions regarding perceived...

Conduct disorder behaviors, childhood family instability, and childhood abuse as predictors of severity of adult homelessness among American veterans

Jack Tsai; Robert A. Rosenheck

Despite US federal efforts to end and prevent homelessness among veterans, there has been limited examination of pre-military factors like childhood problems, associated with adult homelessness. This study examined childhood problems among homeless veterans and its relation to severity of homelessness and outcomes in supported housing. Using data from 1,161 homeless veterans at 19 sites enrolled in the Housing and Urban...

Experience of primary care among homeless individuals with mental health conditions

The delivery of primary care to homeless individuals with mental health conditions presents unique challenges. To inform healthcare improvement, we studied predictors of favorable primary care experience among homeless persons with mental health conditions treated at sites that varied in degree of homeless-specific service tailoring. This was a multi-site, survey-based comparison of primary care experiences at three...

Shelter Capacity Report 2013-2014

Homelessness Partnering Strategy

The annual Shelter Capacity Report provides capacity statistics for emergency homeless shelters in Canada. The number of shelter facilities and the number of permanent beds are reported for each province and territory, as well as by community. In addition, a brief overview of Transitional Housing facilities and Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters is provided in the appendix. The information contained in this report was...

Reorienting risk to resilience: street-involved youth perspectives on preventing the transition to injection drug use

The Youth Injection Prevention (YIP) project aimed to identify factors associated with the prevention of transitioning to injection drug use (IDU) among street-involved youth (youth who had spent at least 3 consecutive nights without a fixed address or without their parents/caregivers in the previous six months) aged 16–24 years in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. Ten focus groups were conducted by youth collaborators (...

Understanding Homelessness

IGH Framework

Strategy & Planning

Program Models

Evaluation

Using Data in Homelessness Work

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The Institute of Global Homelessness