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This Issue in Aware: More Than a Housing Problem

Lynne Melcombe

It may seem obvious to say that homelessness is first and foremost a function of poverty, but it is perhaps less obvious that homelessness is often a consequence of family violence. This is particularly true among segments of the population that comprise a rapidly growing share of the homeless: single women, women with dependent children, and youth.

As researchers have looked into why homelessness is so much more prevalent among these groups now than was apparently the case in the past, as well as how it is caused or exacerbated by factors such as family violence rather than simply being a result of a financial downturn, it has become increasingly obvious that a narrow definition of homelessness as house-lessness is inadequate.

Referring to the United Nations’ definition of homelessness, Neal (2004: 32) describes it as “a social, psychological, and emotional construct revolving around the idea of home.”

However, she says, “[b]ecause of its construction as an idea, homelessness poses severe difficulties in terms of data collection and consequent policy and program directions. House-lessness, the UN Centre [for Human Settlements] argues, is a clearer though conceptually narrower term identifying the consistent aspect of homelessness that can be measured. What is most important about the UN definition of homelessness as house-lessness is that ‘while homelessness is not just a housing problem, it is always a housing problem.’”

As the literature on homelessness develops—and, of more interest here, as the literature connecting family violence and homelessness develops—it is also becoming apparent that house-lessness is rarely “a sudden or unexpected event.” (Chung et al, 2000: 21) Rather, there is a progression from: being at risk of homelessness, perhaps by virtue of living in a home in which one is being abused and is economically dependent on the abuser; to moving frequently from one temporary housing situation to another, be it with family, or friends, or in a shelter; to being absolutely and visibly without a home.

Moreover, as researchers observe the growing presence of different segments of the population among the homeless, refine their definitions of homelessness, and analyze the factors that lead to homelessness, it becomes increasingly clear that the risk factors, manifestations, and consequences of homelessness are strongly tied to gender, age, race, sexual orientation, family history, language spoken, physical and mental ability, immigrant or refugee status, and so on. (McCracken, 2004; McCreary Centre, 2002; Neal, 2004; Rude and Thompson, 2001)

With all this information comes the potential to create policy and allocate funding that will allow for identification of individuals at risk, and intervention in time to prevent homeless-ness and all its costly consequences. As well, from our perspective, comes one more reason to identify, address, and ultimately prevent the family violence that so often leads to homelessness.

In this issue of Aware, we offer five views that—in a tip-of-the-iceberg way—explore some of the connections between homelessness and family violence. To begin, Jill Hightower, retired Executive Director and current board member of the Institute, joins forces with Henry Hightower to provide an overview of salient characteristics of those connections across the lifespan. Anna McCormick, who recently completed a literature review on homelessness among youth for the Institute, condenses key findings from her research addressing youth homelessness and family violence.

BCIFV board member Carol Seychuk offers a rural, northern perspective on family violence and homelessness in a part of BC where the harsh climate exacerbates the invisibility of homelessness and the difficulty of addressing it. Charlotte Mearns, who sits on the Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness, provides insights into the unique factors influencing the disproportional numbers of Aboriginal people in the homeless population as compared with the general population. And Shashi Assanand, also a BCIFV board member, looks at the different ways that homelessness manifests among immigrant, refugee, and visible/cultural-minority women.

Different researchers work with different definitions of, and ideas about, home-lessness; we include some of these in a sidebar on page 21. In addition, throughout this issue you will find brief stories of homelessness; our hope is that these stories express the kinds of details that transform homelessness from A Social Problem into a condition that is real, unique, and poignant for each individual who experiences it. Refer below for complete source information for all of these citations.

Also throughout this issue are photos taken in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, where homelessness in all its manifestations is a fact of everyday life. We thank the McCreary Centre Society for allowing us to reprint these stark images from Between the Cracks: Homeless Youth in Vancouver. (2002) We also thank our authors for contributing their research and their words. Finally, we thank our readers for picking up this issue of Aware, and we hope that it will play a small role in increasing their awareness of the relationships between family violence and homelessness.

REFERENCES

Chung, D, Kennedy, R, O’Brien, B, and Wendt, S (2000) Home Safe Home: The Link Between Domestic and Family Violence and Women’s Homelessness, Australia: Social Policy Research Group, University of South Australia.

McCracken, Molly (2004) Women Need Safe, Stable, Affordable Housing: A Study of Social, Private and Co-op Housing in Winnipeg, Winnipeg MB: Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence. Available online at http://www.pwhce.ca/safeHousing.htm.

Landsburg, M (July 14, 2001) Her column in the Toronto Star.

McCreary Centre Society (2002) Between the Cracks: Homeless Youth in Vancouver, Burnaby BC.

Neal, R (2004) Voices: Women, Poverty and Homelessness in Canada, Ottawa ON: National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO/ONAP).

Rude, D, and Thompson, K (2001) Left in the Cold: Women, Health and the Demise of Social Housing Policies, Winnipeg MB: Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence. Available online at http://www.pwhce.ca/LeftInTheCold.htm.

SPARC BC (2003) 3 Ways to Home: Regional Homelessness Plan for Greater Vancouver, Update: November 2003, Vancouver BC: Social Planning and Research Council of BC.