Homelessness in Canada has grown in size and complexity by 1997. While historically known as a crisis only of urban centres such as Montreal, Laval, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto the increasing incidence of homelessness in the suburbs is necessitating new services and resources.
Homelessness is the condition of people lacking "a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" as defined by The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Annual Homeless Assessment Report, as of 2017 there were around 554,000 homeless people in the United States on a given night, or 0.17% of the population.
Boys & Girls Aid is a non-profit organization that provides services to children in crisis in the state of Oregon, United States.
Housing First is a relatively recent innovation in human service programs and social policy regarding treatment of people who are homeless and is an alternative to a system of emergency shelter/transitional housing progressions. Rather than moving homeless individuals through different "levels" of housing, whereby each level moves them closer to "independent housing", Housing First moves the homeless individual or household immediately from the streets or homeless shelters into their own accommodation.
Seaton House is the largest homeless shelter 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 700 men though, in the past, it has exceeded capacity and housed as many as 900 men. It is expected to close in 2020.
The Catholic Community Services is a ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. Its purpose is to serve the needs of the poor, troubled and oppressed, and helps them solve life problems, and become self-sufficient and healthy. It is a member of the National organization Catholic Charities. Its Main Office is located at 745 E. 300 South Salt Lake City, Utah.
Homelessness in the United Kingdom is measured and responded to in differing ways in England, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but affects people living in all areas of the countries.
Homelessness is defined as living in housing that is below the minimum standard or lacks secure tenure. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: living on the streets ; moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family and emergency accommodation ; living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom and/or security of tenure. The legal definition of homeless varies from country to country, or among different jurisdictions in the same country or region. According to the UK homelessness charity Crisis, a home is not just a physical space: it also provides roots, identity, security, a sense of belonging and a place of emotional wellbeing. United States government homeless enumeration studies also include people who sleep in a public or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. People who are homeless are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure and adequate housing due to a lack of, or an unsteady income. Homelessness and poverty are interrelated.
Dean Fortin served as mayor of Victoria, British Columbia, from 2008 to 2014.
A warming center is a short-term emergency shelter that operates when temperatures or a combination of precipitation, wind chill, wind and temperature become dangerously inclement. Their paramount purpose is the prevention of death and injury from exposure to the elements. This may include acute trauma from falling objects such as trees, or injury to extremities due to frostbite. A more prevalent emergency which warming centers seek to prevent is hypothermia, the risk for which is aggravated by factors such as age, alcohol consumption, and homelessness.
Berkeley Food and Housing Project is a nonprofit organization serving homeless men, women, and children in Berkeley, California. The agency manages four sites: North County Women's Center, Men's Overnight Shelter, Russell Street Residence, and the Multi-Service Center. BFHP is one of the largest homeless service providers in the East Bay.
Launch Housing is based in Melbourne (Australia) and has been providing various services to people experiencing homelessness. It started operations in 1964 at Hanover Street in Fitzroy, and took on the name Hanover; the same as the street. It has 7 offices in Melbourne providing different services such as housing support, employment services, and various other support services to people experiencing homelessness. It's an independent and non-profit organisation not affiliated with any religious group, institution or government. It is funded by private, corporate and government donors.
Homelessness is a major issue in India. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines 'homeless' as those who do not live in a regular residence due to lack of adequate housing, safety, and availability. India defines 'homeless' as those who do not live in Census houses, but rather stay on pavements, roadsides, railway platforms, staircases, temples, streets, in pipes, or other open spaces. There are 1.77 million homeless people in India, or 0.15% of the country's total population, according to the 2011 census consisting of single men, women, mothers, the elderly, and the disabled. Furthermore, there is a high proportion of mentally ill and street children in the homeless population. There are 18 million street children in India, the largest number of any country in the world, with 11 million being urban. Finally, more than three million men and women are homeless in India's capital city of New Delhi; the same population in Canada would make up approximately 30 electoral districts.[citation needed] A family of four members has an average of five homeless generations in India.
Homelessness in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating over the last decade. According to the United Nations, homelessness can either be relative or absolute. Absolute homelessness describes people living in absence of proper physical shelter. Relative homelessness describes people living in poor conditions of health or security, including an absence of both personal safety and steady income despite having physical shelter to reside in. As of 2011, roughly 2,651 people in Vancouver are subject to one of these types of homelessness, or are transitioning between them. Homelessness as a social issue in Vancouver originated from federal funding cuts to affordable housing. After market housing increased, the cost of housing became one of Vancouver's main causes of homelessness, alongside lack of income. The homeless population in Vancouver have developed or previously suffered from mental health and addiction issues, and they are subjected to high amounts of crime-related victimization. There have been several approaches to reducing the homeless population in Greater Vancouver by the city and other organizations. As of 2011, the rate of homelessness in Vancouver has stopped increasing, but it is not being reduced either.
Fr Peter McVerry, SJ is a Roman Catholic priest, notable for battling homelessness in Ireland. According to one report, the trust which he founded helped 3,600 homeless people in Dublin in 2013.
The Travelers Aid Family Services (TAFS) was originally formed as a volunteer based social service organization seeking to provide resources for the massive numbers of immigrants arriving in the United States during the mid to late 1900s. Boston's branch, Travelers Aid Family Services of Boston, worked to assist immigrants arriving at the city's many train stations and boating docks. Today, TAFS has evolved into the non-profit organization FamilyAid Boston, working to end homelessness within the city of Boston, Massachusetts.
Coast Shelter is a non-profit organisation assisting homeless young people and adults in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The service was founded in 1992 as Gosford Emergency Accommodation Services. The service's predecessor was the Rumbalara Youth Refuge established by Gosford City Council in 1985. Since the its founding, the organisation has assisted over 16,000 individuals.
Covenant House Toronto is a nonprofit organization that serves, at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth between 16 and 24. It is based in Toronto, Ontario and is one of the many Covenant House locations based in North America. The Toronto location is the largest agency of its kind in Canada, with 80 per cent of their annual funding coming from donors. The house serves as many as 300 youth a day regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identitity, or the circumstances that have brought them to their doors. Covenant House also offers services such as education, after-care, counselling, health care, employment assistance and job training. The organization has also offered hope and care to more than 95,000 young people since its start in 1982.
