The Canadian National Newspaper: Reflections on the cross-Canada Crisis of Homelessness

The newspaper headlines in the fall of 1998 were disturbing: "Homeless suffer higher suicide risk, study finds." "Homelessness called growing shame." "Births up among homeless women." "Civilized society feared at risk." "Homelessness a national disaster." Homeless people living on the streets or panhandling for money are found in the downtown core of any major city in Canada, but has a national disaster occurred? Is civilized society in Canada at risk? In the leaner, meaner Canada of 1998, homeless-ness-an all too vague term for most people, but a cruel reality for too many others-has indeed become a major national issue.

The statistics are as disturbing as the headlines. As of October 1998, there were at least 200 000 homeless people in Canada-people literally without homes, people with no private spaces in which to live, people existing from day to day, 24 hours a day, in public places. And the situation is getting worse. In Toronto, front-line workers report two to four deaths each week of homeless people. The Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness estimates that another 80 000 people in Toronto are at risk of becoming homeless in the near future as a result of overcrowding of existing shelters, substandard housing that they will eventually have to leave, and-for others-simply not having enough money to pay the rent. In Vancouver, social workers report that the spread of HIV infection is a direct result not only of prostitution and drug abuse but of homelessness itself, an interconnected and self-perpetuating relationship. In Montreal, the suicide rate among young street people is 12 times higher than that of young people who have homes. And in Calgary, about half the city's homeless population of 3800 are actually employed but cannot find affordable housing. Making matters worse, not only do homeless people suffer from a poverty cycle, but they also face discrimination that hinders efforts to improve their situation. They are often stereotyped as being lazy and an unnecessary burden on society, as actually preferring life on the street to any other option, or-perhaps the cruellest misconception-as somehow being people who "deserve" to be homeless.

There is, however, a growing, troubled awareness that in our own country, rated by the United Nations as one of the best countries in the world in which to live, there is a conspicuous discrepancy: poor people without homes. For many of us, having more than one television, more than one telephone, more than one car is not unusual. We probably don't consider ourselves "wealthy" and yet, in terms of the most basic need-a home-200 000 Canadians have no wealth at all.

A great deal of media coverage focuses on homelessness in large urban centres, especially Toronto. Toronto is perhaps the key case study because it has the greatest number of homeless people, and Toronto-based groups such as the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee have received much media attention for challenging governments to declare homelessness a national disaster. Homelessness, they point out, is not just a problem in Toronto; it affects all the major cities across Canada. As you read the following information, consider why the reality of homelessness is a complex national issue.

Street Kids in Montreal

Some people believe that "squeegee kids" lead an easy life, making quick money by cleaning car windshields and then choosing to spend the proceeds however they like. Street kids, however, are often trapped in their situation. They live without a fixed address or running water. Many of them are struggling with drug abuse, depression, and poverty so great that nearly one-quarter of them resort to selling sex for food or shelter. The reality of life on the streets for these young people was chronicled in a study released September 1998 by Montreal public-health officials.

The study found that street youth are 12 times more likely to die than their peers. It also stated that 40 per cent of them are already injecting drugs on the street and another 10 per cent begin injecting each year. Street kids report being very aware of the health risks of injecting cocaine or heroine, and most try to reduce the chances of becoming addicted by only carrying a few needles at a time. However, despite these precautions they often end up re-using the needles they have. The study also found that 38 per cent of the young people interviewed said they had entertained suicidal thoughts in the past year, and around 34 per cent had already tried to kill themselves.

The Working Homeless in Calgary

Calgary has a booming economy and jobs are plentiful. Ironically, there is almost no housing available for the newly employed. In June, Shawn McLennan flew from British Columbia to Calgary to start a new life. He was able to find work as soon as he arrived but for his first six weeks he had to sleep on a river bank in a park, averaging four hours of sleep a night. After that, he was able to obtain a bed in a transition shelter for the homeless, where he is currently living. He is trying to save enough money for a first and last month's rent, a damage deposit, and utility hook-ups, all of which are required of renters in Alberta.

In 1997, when Calgary's economic boom was just beginning, it was estimated that half the city's 3800 homeless people were actually employed people. In response, the city converted one of the houses it owned downtown into a temporary residence for the working homeless. Restricted to men who have full-time, permanent jobs, they pay only a few dollars a week to live there, allowing them to scrape together the $1500 to $3000 required to get a rental unit in the city. By August of 1998, 75 men had moved through the house, and there are lineups for those who want to get into the house.

The Alberta provincial government no longer requires subsidized housing units to be built in the province. As a result, whereas construction is booming, only single-family homes are being built. In the first half of 1998, over 4900 single-family homes were constructed, but only 20 rental apartment units were constructed. This, in turn, has forced rents up an average of 11 per cent and out of reach for the lowest earners.

Adsum House is a temporary emergency shelter for homeless and transient women (16 years and over) and their children. Ad sum is a Latin phrase that can be translated as "I am here." The only shelter of its kind in Maritime Canada, Adsum House provides shelter, food, and clothing, and gives the women an opportunity to stabilize their lives under the guidance of dedicated and skilled staff and volunteers. It can accommodate up to 18 women and children at any one time. Everyone, including staff, residents, and volunteers contribute to the daily upkeep of the house. Approximately 60 volunteers give generously of their talents to help in the daily operation of the facility and to participate on administrative committees. Current statistics indicate that every day another woman becomes homeless within the Metro Halifax area. Adsum House is typical of the many shelters providing assistance to the needy across Canada, shelters that are run almost entirely by volunteers.

Although there have always been a certain number of homeless people in Canada, there has been a significant increase in the number of people that now find themselves without any place to live. As well, it is no longer rare to find among the homeless entire families, teenagers, and single-parent (primarily female) families. This is a significant change. Most anti-poverty advocates and a number of economists argue that the increase in homelessness is a direct result of cuts to government spending within Canada. Although any major social problem is complex, .the worsening of homelessness in Canada coincides with the implementation of federal and provincial economic austerity policies which have sabotages vital social programmes in order to accommodate to the capitalistocratic greed-driven "Free Trade" with the United States. These kinds of budgetary policies in the United States have created worsening ghetto and other areas of social despair in the United States, which have fostered alienation and crime.

Cuts to Social (Subsidized) Housing

Jean Chrétien's federal government stopped funding to social housing in 1993, and the Ontario government, under Mike Harris's Progressive Conservative Party, followed suit in 1995. Up until then, an average of 2100 affordable housing units had been built in Toronto every year. As tenants moved into those units, the low-cost accommodation they previously occupied became available for those still on the waiting list. In effect, two units were being provided for the price of one. But since the government cutbacks, no social housing has been built in the city of Toronto. As a result, the low-income tenants are staying put, units are no longer recycled, and the neediest end up on the street.

Removal of Rent Controls

It has been suggested that another factor that has contributed to the increase in homelessness is an increase in rental prices. Shortly after they were elected, the Progressive Conservative Party removed rent controls in Ontario. Rent controls place a limit on how much landlords can increase the rent from year to year. As a result of the rent controls being removed, some low-income families found that their rents increased faster than their incomes, and they were evicted from their homes. Anne Golden, the Chair of the Mayor's Homelessness Task Force, also estimated in October 1998 that 80 000 people in Toronto alone are in danger of becoming homeless this year because of large increases in rents.

In addition to the elimination of social housing, the Ontario government has also made substantial cuts to the welfare system in the province. Since 1995 welfare rates (the amount received by a recipient) have been cut 21.6 per cent . The government points out that even with these cuts, welfare recipients in Ontario still receive the highest welfare payments in the country. Social Services Minister Janet Ecker has stated these cuts are actually "good" for the homeless because it forces more people off welfare and into paying jobs. Anti-poverty activists agree that fewer people are on welfare, but they disagree that those people have moved into paying jobs. They say those people are now living on the streets. Furthermore, they criticize the cuts and the government's arguments, pointing out that Ontario is the most expensive province in Canada in which to live, and that is why welfare rates are higher.

Intergovernmental Conflict

One of the reasons it is difficult for the homeless problem to be solved quickly is because the issue involves the jurisdiction of three levels of government. For example, money for shelter allowances and rent supplements, housing conversion and new construction, and funding for support services all come from separate areas of government. Critics suggest that in order for permanent progress to occur, the governments must agree that homelessness is a priority, and therefore agree collectively to divert appropriate funds as per their individual mandates. These same critics say this is not yet happening.

Ontario Premier Mike Harris continues to argue that the provincial government does not have a role to play in solving the homelessness problem. Indeed, in a speech in Hamilton on October 9, 1998, Harris questioned whether the situation was a crisis at all. "I don't know whether it's a national state of emergency at this point of time. I don't know whether it's any worse than last year. I can tell you that there are far more jobs and far more people working, and the food bank, I think in August, announced that food bank usage was down 10 per cent this year over last as a result of a booming economy in Toronto." The province declined to participate in the Homelessness Task Force, headed by Anne Golden, and instead produced its own report in October 1998 that assigns responsibility for homelessness to municipalities. The Ontario government's report also called on Ottawa to offer tax incentives for building low-cost rental housing in the province, and accuses the federal government of costing Ontario $80-million a year in welfare money because of delays in dealing with refugee claimants, many of whom are forced to live in hostels.

In an attempt to get the attention of the federal government, in October 1998 Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman challenged Prime Minister Chrétien to visit the city's streets. Chrétien responded by saying he would wait for Anne Golden's report to be released before he would accept Lastman's invitation. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated, however, that the Prime Minister recognizes the problem of homelessness in urban centres. Ottawa has already provided $300 000 for the Golden study and is considering establishment of a cabinet committee to look at alternatives. As well, in November 1998 the federal government turned over two federal buildings to the City of Toronto to be used as homeless shelters.

It has been Mel Lastman, Mayor of Toronto, who has become the loudest advocate for the homeless in his city. Some find this ironic because during the mayoral election campaign he caused an uproar when he stated that there were no homeless people in Toronto. Since he has been mayor, however, Lastman seems to have accepted and admitted there is a problem. He created a Homelessness Task Force in January of 1998, and he joined the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee in declaring homelessness a national disaster in October 1998.

Popularized Misconceptions

Some observers say that one of the reasons the problem of homelessness in Canada's major cities is not improving is because misconceptions interfere with a true understanding of the problem, thus making it more difficult to organize effective strategies that combine the efforts of private organizations, governments, and the public at large. Anne Golden, Chair of the Toronto Homelessness Task Force, has been gathering information about the reality of the homelessness situation in Canada's largest city and has identified the misconceptions listed below. Before you read the following information, consider how people often talk about homeless people.

Misconception: Most homeless people are males suffering from mental illness and/or substance abuse

According to Golden's research, while two-thirds of homeless people are male and one-third female, the fastest growing segment of the homeless population is women and children. In fact, single mothers head 37 per cent of homeless families. The demand for family hostels has gone up by 123 per cent since 1992. For most of these people, the reason they are living on the streets or in shelters is not because of mental illness or drugs, but because of poverty and lack of safety at home.

Misconception: With strong economic growth, the homelessness problem will resolve itself.

According to the data Golden gathered, the direct opposite is true. For the first time in the 20th century we are seeing rising poverty and rising homelessness at the same time that economic prosperity is increasing. In 1996 the poverty rate for all Canadians rose to 17.6 per cent and to more than 20 per cent for children. In Toronto, the child poverty rate is 36 per cent. Not only are there more poor today, but those who are poor are getting poorer. Between 1990 and 1995 average incomes in Toronto fell by 12.5 per cent, and one in four Toronto families now lives below the poverty line. There is also a greater number of people in Toronto who are being evicted. In fact, there has been a 78 per cent increase in evictions from 1992 to 1997. With the waiting list for social housing averaging around eight to 10 years, it is likely that more renters will end up on the street when they cannot make their payments.

Furthermore, in mid-October, a report released by the Centre for Social Justice in Toronto identified a large and growing gap between rich and poor in Canada that economic growth is not helping to narrow. For example, in 1971 the wealthiest 10 per cent of families made 21 times more than the poorest 10 per cent of families. By 1996, the top 10 per cent were making 314 times more than the poorest 10 per cent. In addition, the average salary for a corporate executive rose 13 per cent from 1995 to 1997. Over the same three years, workers' wages rose no more than two per cent, less than the rate of inflation. And finally, the average family with children under 18 suffered a $4000 decline in real income between 1989 and 1996, and the percentage of families with middle class incomes shrank from 60 per cent to 44 per cent.

Misconception: There are plenty of services available to meet the needs of the homeless.

Right now there are approximately 5000 homeless people in Toronto. Each night about 4500 of them find space to sleep in one of the cities shelters, but over 500 will not be able to find a bed. It is those people who end up sleeping on the streets, in parks, and in abandoned buildings. The shelters that do exist are seriously overcrowded and they are often very unpleasant.

Misconception: Homelessness is primarily Toronto's problem.

Although Toronto has the greatest number of homeless people in Canada, many of the city's homeless are not actually from Toronto, or even from Ontario. In fact, a recent report showed that 47 per cent of all the homeless in Toronto in the past nine years come from outside Toronto and 14 per cent from outside the country. Many of them have come looking for jobs and to take advantage of special services. And Toronto itself has been hindered in its ability to deal with the homelessness crisis because of decisions made at the federal and provincial government levels. For example, both the federal and provincial governments have withdrawn from social housing construction.