Homelessness In Canada Essay

Most people are lucky enough to have a job that supports them and their family, a roof over their head and food on the table. In Canada approximately

235 000 people don’t have any of those things, that's more than 1% of Canada's population and that number continues to rise along with the length of time they spend homeless. Homelessness affects many Canadians, though some population groups are more at risk of becoming homeless than others, including single adult men, people dealing with mental health issues or addictions, women with children fleeing violence, and Indigenous people. Many people wrongly think that the homeless population is lazy and won’t work to support themselves, but that is completely untrue. Many people who live on the

People make many assumptions about the homeless. Perhaps the most common is that homeless people are too lazy to work, for the vast majority of homeless people, the assumption that they are lazy is dead wrong. Many people who are fortunate enough to have a home see the lives homeless people have and wonder why they wouldn't do something to help themselves in that situation. “ Individuals and families who experience homelessness may not share much in common with each other, aside from the fact that they are extremely vulnerable, and lack adequate housing and income and the necessary supports to ensure they stay housed. The causes of homelessness reflect an intricate interplay between structural factors, systems failures and individual circumstances. Homelessness is usually the result of the cumulative impact of a number of factors, rather than a single cause.” (Homeless Hub) Trying to get yourself back on track after experiencing circumstances that would result in loss of your job or homelessness can be extremely difficult. The other problem is the lack of job opportunities for someone who may not have many qualifications. Most jobs that require less experience do not provide a pay wage that would be enough to help someone out of

It is important for assistance organizations to have a crisis response and extra assistance for the most vulnerable. Emergency response is a prime focus of homelessness services in Canada, the services include shelters, drop-ins, meal programs and outreach services. Usually they need more than just a place to stay, that's why it's important these organizations provide these services that might help[ to improve their mental health.

“FACT stands for Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) and is a program offered to those over the age of 18 with severe mental illness. It aims to help individuals recover, integrate into the community and increase autonomy. The intensity of treatment is dependent on the needs of the individual. The critical thing here is they have access to professional services.” (Graham)

Although there are many government resources that most times won’t begin to help them if they are not stable and on their required medication. There are many other reasons that someone may need additional help, like getting out of an abusive relationship, physical health issues, or addiction problems. There are certain ways that those situations need to be dealt with and would require lots of training along with important protocol as of what to do. Many people are unable to live independently and would need to be checked