3.1 Introduction
The ability of everyone to access community resources matters for their health, but there are overwhelming barriers, especially for marginalized individuals, such as the homeless, who face barriers to accessing the resources to which they have a right as individuals. In Canada, homelessness has become increasingly compounded, especially in the last 60 years, due to a lack of effective social safety nets and increased costs of housing (Joy Chan, 2024). Add to this the multitude of barriers that limit populations’ access to services and establish a never-ending cycle of disadvantage, and homelessness becomes further entrenched. Individual barriers include technology, accessing information, and personal circumstances compounded with systemic barriers in service delivery (Canavan et al., 2012).
This chapter discusses the various barriers experienced by persons living in homelessness when seeking community resources. It shows how challenging it can be for vulnerable populations to navigate systems, which many consider routine. People can be disadvantaged personally through a lack of money, limited access to technology, communication barriers, lower levels of education or knowledge about how to navigate complicated bureaucratic systems. For some, fear of authorities can function as an additional barrier associated with even asking for assistance. In addition to these personal barriers, many organizations, services, and systems have even greater barriers, which can include sharply discontinuous services, access to transportation, lack of time, and experiences of discrimination. Acknowledging barriers is an important step in developing more humane and accessible systems to break down barriers and improve fairness and equity in our communities.
Homelessness is a huge societal concern. It is financially costly for services, communities, and governments (Pleace,2015; Witte, 2017; Zaretzky et al., 2013). The costs for the individual are highly pervasive, in terms of the impact on personal, social, and occupational functioning (Leng, 2017). It is well-documented that mental health difficulties are highly prevalent in the homeless population (Fazel et al., 2014; Gutwinski et al., 2021), including experiences such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Ayano et al., 2020) and psychosis (Gutwinski et al., 2012; Rees, 2009). Mental health difficulties in this group may be associated with a higher risk to self, as homeless individuals are found to be more likely to experience suicidal ideation and successfully take their own life, compared to the general population (Ayano et al., 2019).
Insights into Homelessness
- Canada’s homeless population includes teens, the elderly, men, women, and families with young children. The homeless population includes people born in Canada and immigrants. (Turnbull, Jeffrey, Wendy Muckle, and Christina Masters, 2007)
- The majority of homeless people in Canada are single men between the ages of 25–44. (Laird, Gordon,2007)
- Toronto, Ontario, has Canada’s largest homeless population. (Turnbull, Jeffrey, Wendy Muckle, and Christina Masters, 2007)
- Almost one-third of the Canadian homeless population is youth between the ages of 16 and 24. (Laird, Gordon,2007)
- The largest number of street youths are in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Most street youth do not stay in shelters. They live on the street, “squat” in buildings, or “couch surf” at friends’ places. (Turnbull, Jeffrey, Wendy Muckle, and Christina Masters, 2007)
- Each night there are about 8000 homeless people sleeping in shelters within the nine largest cities in Canada. (Turnbull, Jeffrey, Wendy Muckle, and Christina Masters, 2007)
Shelter Use and Homelessness
This chart shows the survey of the total number of months some shelter users were homeless in some regions in Canada. The total surveyed was 469.
- Canada – 36 months
- British Columbia – 30 months
- Prairies – 28 months
- Ontario – 40 months
- Quebec – 30 months
- Atlantic provinces – 50 months (Salvation Army, 2008).
| Year | Acute Chronicity | Combined chronic Homelessness | Prolonged instability | Total chronic Homelessness |
| 2017 | 9.0% | 3.5% | 9.9% | 22.4% |
| 2018 | 10.5% | 3.3% | 8.5% | 22.2% |
| 2019 | 12.1% | 3.8% | 9.2% | 25.2% |
| 2020 | 16.0% | 5.6% | 10.0% | 31.7% |
| 2021 | 15.2% | 7.2% | 8.2% | 30.6% |
Acute chronicity and prolonged instability from 2017 to 2021 (GOC, 2024).
