Homelessness in Canada was not a social problem until the 1980s. The Canadian government housing policies and programs in place throughout the 1970s were based on a concept of shelter as a basic need or requirement for survival and of the obligation of government and society to provide adequate housing for everyone. Public policies shifted away from rehousing in the 1980s in wealthy Western countries like Canada, which led to a de-housing of households that had previously been housed. By 1987, when the United Nations established the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH), homelessness had become a serious social problem in Canada. The report of the major 1987 IYSH conference held in Ottawa said that housing was not a high priority for government, and this was a significant contributor to the homelessness problem. While there was a demand for adequate and affordable housing for low income Canadian families, government funding was not available. In the 1980s a "wider segment of the population" began to experience homelessness for the first time – evident through their use of emergency shelters and soup kitchens. Shelters began to experience overcrowding, and demand for services for the homeless was constantly increasing. A series of cuts were made to national housing programs by the federal government through the mid-1980s and in the 1990s. While Canada's economy was robust, the cuts continued and in some cases accelerated in the 1990s, including cuts to the 1973 national affordable housing program. The government solution for homelessness was to create more homeless shelters and to increase emergency services. In the larger metropolitan areas like Toronto the use of homeless shelters increased by 75% from 1988 to 1998. Urban centres such as Montreal, Laval, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary all experienced increasing homelessness.
Homeless shelters are a type of service that provides temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community. They are similar to, but distinguishable from, various types of emergency shelters, which are typically operated for specific circumstances and populations—fleeing natural disasters or abusive social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios, and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather.
So Others Might Eat (SOME) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to assist those dealing with poverty and homelessness in Washington, D.C. The organization provides affordable housing, job training, counseling and other healthcare services, and daily needs such as food and clothing to the poor and homeless. It spends the largest portion of its annual budget on affordable housing, with a majority of its residents recovering from addiction. SOME describes its mission as helping "our vulnerable neighbors in Washington, DC, break the cycle of homelessness through our comprehensive and transformative services".
Saint Francis House is a nonprofit, nonsectarian, daytime shelter, primarily for the homeless, located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, and founded in the early 1980s. It is the largest daytime shelter in New England and serves as an early model of such a center.
Housing First is a policy that offers unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward. It was first discussed in the 1990s, and in the following decades became government policy in certain locations within the Western world. There is a substantial base of evidence showing that Housing First is both an effective solution to homelessness and a form of cost savings, as it also reduces the use of public services like hospitals, jails, and emergency shelters. Cities like Helsinki and Vienna in Europe have seen dramatic reductions in homelessness due to the adaptation of Housing First policies, as have the North American cities Columbus, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Coalition for the Homeless is a not-for-profit advocacy group focused on homelessness in New York. The coalition has engaged in landmark litigation to protect the rights of homeless people, including the right to shelter and the right to vote, and also advocates for long-term solutions to the problem of homelessness. Formed in 1981, the Coalition has offices in New York City and Albany, New York.
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House is a multi-service, community-based organization that serves people in need on the East Side of Manhattan and on Roosevelt Island. Founded in 1894 as a free kindergarten for the children of indigent immigrants and as one of the first settlement houses in the nation, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House is the oldest and largest provider of social, legal and educational services on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Each year, they assist thousands of individuals and families who range in age from 3 to 103, represent dozens of races, ethnicities and countries of origin and "live, work, go to school or access services" on the East Side from 14th Street to 143rd Street and on Roosevelt Island. Their clients include indigent families and the working poor who live in the East Side's housing projects and tenements or who travel to the Upper East Side to work in low-wage jobs such as cashiers, housekeepers, nannies and laborers; 10,000 seniors; and hundreds of mentally ill homeless and formerly homeless adults. They have five locations between 54th and 102nd Streets, offer programs at dozens of East Side locations; their headquarters is located on East 70th Street.
Seaton House is one of the largest homeless shelters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 339 George Street in the Garden District neighbourhood. The facility provides temporary lodging, food, clothing, medical care, for single men and also attempts to provide tools for enabling them to establish their independence. The shelter houses up to 300 men though, in the past, it has exceeded capacity and housed as many as 900 men. It was expected to close in 2020, but that has been delayed.
The Cathedral Shelter of Chicago was founded in 1915. It began as a storefront mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, attached to the former Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, providing food and clothing to the poor and homeless. In 1920, they began offering substance abuse treatment. Under the leadership of Father David Gibson, an Episcopal priest, the shelter was of great importance during the Great Depression.
The Poverello Center, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization devoted to, advocating for, and providing a multitude of services to address and improve the health, well-being, and stability of the homeless and under-served within Missoula, Montana.
Union Gospel Mission is a charitable organization providing meals, education, shelter, safe and affordable housing, drug and alcohol recovery programs, and support services to those struggling with homelessness and addiction in Canada, with locations in the Metro Vancouver area and the city of Mission.
South Middlesex Opportunities Council, commonly referred to as SMOC, is one of the largest private, non-profit social services groups in Eastern Massachusetts. Operating in the Metrowest region of the state, the group provides homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation programs, family counseling handicapped transportation and numerous other social services. It was founded in 1966.
Launch Housing is a secular Melbourne-based community organisation that delivers homelessness services and housing supports to disadvantaged Victorians.
HOPE Atlanta, the programs of Travelers Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta, is a non-profit organization that has served the metro-Atlanta area for 112 years. Since its inception in 1900, the organization has provided services to over one million people in need throughout the counties surrounding Atlanta, Georgia.
The INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network) is a non-profit, volunteer organization based in Long Island, New York. The organization addresses hunger and homelessness including poverty on Long Island by providing food, shelter, long-term housing, and supportive services. It is estimated that the INN feeds about 5,000 Long Islanders each week.
Austerity measures and the ongoing fiscal crisis have significantly spurred the rise in homelessness in Greece in the 21st century. Instances of homelessness have been dominantly concentrated in the city of Athens. Homelessness remains a relatively under-examined area of social policy in Greece, with the first organised counting for homeless people taking place in May 2018. Governments and non-profit organisations alike have made efforts to counter this phenomenon.
A managed alcohol program is a program meant to reduce harm for chronic alcoholics. The program involves providing a regular dose of alcohol to individuals with alcohol addiction, typically at a shelter-based harm reduction centre.
Deborah's Place, established in 1985, is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that offers shelter, resources and support to the homeless women of Chicago. Its mission is to provide resources to homeless women in order for them to transition from being homeless. Programs and services include permanent supportive housing and basic necessities. Deborah's Place has worked with over 4,000 women, delivering employment training, access to education, healthcare, case management, permanent, interim and subsidized community-based housing. One-third of participants are recovering from drug abuse and mental illness.
Rescue Mission Syracuse is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1887, based in Syracuse, New York. The mission statement for Rescue Mission is to "put love into action through shelter, food, clothing, and hope." It provides food services, emergency shelter, housing, permanent care, clothing centers, mobile outreach services, employment and educational resources, and connections to other services. It is currently located at 155 Gifford St in Syracuse, NY.
