Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

A Homeless Christmas

to yours .. Sylvester Adam Wardega, applause! .. top video .. much more practical and generous than the champagne, sandwiches and Christmas cake i and a couple of friends distributed for about 5 years .. those were among the best ever Christmas days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx7AQU8yxVY

Rob McConnell

Published on Oct 21, 2013

"Homelessness and Hunger effects both sexes, all ages, all nationalities, all religions, all political parties, the healthy, the challenged and is one society's dirty little secrets, along with modern day slavery and human trafficking. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Rob McConnell - 2013"

Despite sporadic success in addressing homelessness in Canada, little progress has been made toward a permanent cross-country solution, says a national report into the extent of the problem.

The report's initial numbers tell a grim story. Among the report's findings:

• At least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year.

• At least 150,000 Canadians a year use a homeless shelter at some point.

• At least 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night.

• At least 50,000 Canadians are part of the "hidden homeless" on any given night — staying with friends or relatives on a temporary basis as they have nowhere else to go.

Those numbers come from the Canadian Homelessness Research Network (CHRN) and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the groups behind what they call the first extensive national report card on homelessness.

Their look at the state of homelessness in Canada found that annual shelter use did not change substantially from 2005 to 2009, while the average stay grew longer.

As a result, the report's authors say, it's time the country shifted its focus from crisis management — from things like emergency shelter beds and soup kitchens — to more permanent solutions.

"When we start warehousing people, it can lead to a sense of complacency: well, it isn't the best situation to be sleeping with 50 other strangers in a room but it's a best we can do," said Stephen Gaetz, the lead author of the report and the director of the CHRN.

"The reality is it isn't the best we can do at all."

Who is homeless?

While the homeless can come from any group, the report found that certain populations are over-represented:

• Single adult males between the ages of 25 and 55 account for almost half the homeless population (47.5 per cent).

• Youth between the ages of 16 and 24 account for 20 per cent of the homeless. An estimated 25 to 40 per cent of homeless youth are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or transgender.

• Aboriginal people are over-represented among the homeless in almost every urban centre in Canada, with the over-representation growing dramatically the more one heads west and north.

Degrees of homelessness

Of the 200,000 people who use homeless shelters in an average year, relatively few (4,000 to 8,000) are what the report's authors call "chronically homeless."

A slightly higher number (6,000 to 22,000) are what they call "episodic homeless." These are people who move into and out of homeless shelters multiple times over several years.

The vast majority of Canada's homeless (176,000 to 188,000) are "transitional homeless" — individuals and families who enter the shelter system for a short stay of generally less than a month. For them, homelessness is usually a one-time event.

Even though the first two groups make up less than 15 per cent of the homeless population, they account for more than half of the resources of the homelessness system.

People can be pushed into homelessness by a variety of factors — the loss of a job, mental illness, addictions, family violence or abuse, extreme poverty.

Changes in the economy and in the housing market are adding to homelessness.

The supply of affordable housing has not kept pace with the needs of the population.

There has also been a decline in the amount of affordable rental housing in many cities. Combine that with declining incomes and a widespread reduction in social benefits for low-income Canadians, and you get a population that has to spend a greater percentage of its income on housing.

High rents and low vacancy rates put more pressure on the 30 per cent of Canadians who rent.

Many more are increasingly vulnerable. The report estimates that as many as 1.5 million of Canada's 12 million households — those with low incomes and who are paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing — are at risk of becoming homeless.

To read The State of Homelessness in Canada 2013 download the report here:http://www.homelesshub.ca/ResourceFil...