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The Invisible, Visible Homelessness in a Rural BC Community

Carol Seychuk

Homelessness has many different definitions and categories. The definitions referred to in this article are: visible, hidden, and at risk.

Visible homelessness typically includes persons who access emergency hostels and shelters and those who sleep rough in places such as parks, alleys, ravines, doorways, vehicles, and abandoned buildings. Hidden homelessness includes people who temporarily stay with their social networks, or remain in unsafe homes and situations in order to maintain shelter. Hidden homelessness can also include living in overcrowded households and unsafe buildings. Individuals at risk of homelessness can include those who are one step away from eviction, bankruptcy, or family separation. Youth who are living in homes where there is parent-child conflict, domestic violence, and physical/sexual abuse are at great risk. Poverty, substance misuse, mental illness, and being poorly prepared for independent living may also increase the risks of homelessness.

As very little research exists specific to a northern experience, qualitative and quantitative data on homelessness in rural and northern BC are not currently available. Partly in response to this, in the community of Smithers, BC a new research project is underway called, Is There a Better Way? The Issue of Homelessness in Smithers.

A community of just over 5000 individuals, Smithers is surrounded by several outlying villages, which bring the regional population up to about 17,000. The goal of the research project is to identify contributing factors to home-lessness in the Smithers area, as well as barriers to overcoming the problem of homelessness.

LOCAL RESEARCH: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Social-service providers and advocates have recognized the structural and personal factors contributing to homelessness and at-risk homelessness in the Smithers area for several years. However, preliminary research shows that the community at large is unaware of any chronic homelessness. Stereotypical media portrayals of urban centres often present images of unkempt older men and women pushing shopping carts and sleeping in doorways, or disenfranchised youth involved in substance misuse and criminal activity. This is not the face of homelessness in the rural north and therefore perpetuates the invisibility of homelessness.

Also contributing to this invisibility is the northern climate. With winter temperatures that commonly drop to 20 or 30 degrees below zero (Celsius), living on the street in the winter is an unlikely and potentially deadly option. However, even in the summer months ‘visible homelessness’ is well hidden from the community eye. Individuals seek shelter at the transition house or emergency shelter; in alleys sheds, tents, or an old abandoned mine; at the defunct railway facilities, or occasionally on park benches. Youth who are seen hanging out on Main Street all night are thought to be bored and rebellious, rather than homeless. The stereotypical portrayals of persons who are homeless can often blind us to a rural experience of homelessness and create barriers to community-based prevention and intervention strategies.

As there are no current data on the extent of homelessness in the community, it is difficult to determine if Smithers is in line with national reports of a disturbing increase in homelessness. But several structural factors—the recent downturn in the resource-based economy, increased unemployment, cuts to social assistance, lack of affordable housing, bank foreclosures, and significant migration of the population base as noted in the closure of a local school and decline in school enrollment — suggest that the hidden and at-risk populations have grown. Moreover, the local transition house has reported an increase in new intakes attributed to conflicts arising from what women describe as situational pressure on the family, such as changes to the economy, and unemployment for themselves or their partners.
Who are the homeless in our community? What barriers specific to the rural experience do they face? How much of rural homelessness is attribut-able to family violence? The best information we have comes from local preliminary research, frontline service providers, and the experiences of some individuals.

WOMEN: THE LARGEST SHARE OF OUR VISIBLY HOMELESS

One-hundred-and-seventy-six women and 125 children received shelter services at the local transition house in the last year. (Ministry Information Service, 2004) Canadian studies have estimated that women comprise 30 percent of the national average of homeless persons (Begin et al, 1999); women make up by far the greatest number of documented ‘visibly homeless’ in Smithers community. Women’s homelessness is associated with poverty, domestic conflict, violence, substance misuse, mental and physical health problems, and the lack of affordable ‘safe housing’ and/or supportive housing programs.

With the downturn in the local and regional economy, high unemployment rates, cuts to social assistance, and declining child-care support, access to safe and affordable housing is an issue for women and their dependent children. This is particularly true as it pertains to women living in households where there is violence and abuse. Women fleeing abuse and violence seek shelter to keep themselves and their children safe. While the transition house offers security and shelter, it is a temporary measure. If a woman chooses to leave her relationship she may be faced with a standard of living far below that to which she and her children have been accustomed, pressure to return to the abusive relationship, or homelessness.

A woman’s ability to support herself in a small resource-based community is greatly affected by marital breakdowns and women are more often financially affected than men. “While men’s income increases slightly, women’s household income after divorce drops over 40 percent and the poverty rate increases almost threefold …” (Novac, Brown, and Bourbonnais, 1996) Single-parent families headed by women become particularly vulnerable when back-up resources such as extended family and friends are exhausted. According to the 2001 census, women with an average of 2.8 children headed 260 of the 285 single-parent families reported for the Smithers area. Women made up 47 percent of the workforce and had average earnings that were 46.45 percent less than their male counterparts. (Statistics Canada, 2001)

Financial problems are compounded by the difficulty of maintain-ing anonymity in a small community. Even when the shelter provides confidential support, word travels fast. Given limited resources, it is relatively easy to assume when a woman is staying at the shelter. Yet staying with family or friends is rarely an option: it can put family members themselves at risk and is also only a temporary measure.

The backlash and rumours in a small community can literally paralyze a person. Pressure from the abusive partner, family, and friends, even when it is well meaning, is difficult to avoid. Women have reported that, when they go against their social system, even for reasons of fear, the resulting guilt and isolation can leave them with no other option but to return. They also express that if they had somewhere to go that was decent, it would be far easier for them to make the decision to stay away from the abuse, or make other choices. “If I could just prove that I could do it, that I could make it on my own, it would be so much easier on me and the kids.” (anonymous shelter resident)

Women do not consider the idea of moving away lightly when ‘away’ can be so incredibly far: the closest community to Smithers is a 60-minute drive in good driving conditions, while a larger center with more access to resources is a minimum 4.5 hours away. The costs of relocation are often very high, and the further the relocation, the higher the costs become. Moving may mean leaving lifetime supports, generational homes, and sometimes culture.

As well, women experience enormous pressure to ensure that their children have access to their fathers. When a women leaves, she is often held responsible for ensuring that visitation will be possible, as she is the ‘one who left.’ This could mean the expense of travel, or returning to the community, which may be a significant safety risk. Advocates report that the courts are ordering that one party be denied the privilege of moving away, or at least that the address of the one who has moved be made public. This further impinges on a woman’s ability to relocate and maintain anonymity in order to keep herself and her children safe.

YOUTH

Young people on their own in rural communities often have difficulty renting. Rural youth express frustration and feelings that they are being discriminated against because they are unable to rent when they are on social assistance, or because they have no references. A youth residing at the shelter stated, “It’s a small town. Once you have blown it with one place, everybody knows and won’t rent to you.”

Moreover, like many rural communities, Smithers has limited shelter services available, and even fewer available to youth. There is one transition house for women and their children, which also provides two respite beds for girls and/or young women in the care of the Ministry for Children and Family Development, and there are four beds available through an emergency shelter service at a local motel.

This lack of shelter contributes to the invisibility of homelessness among rural youth by driving them out of the community. Youth have reported to local researchers that at-risk and visibly homeless youth often leave the community to relocate to larger urban centres in search of a supportive street culture, shelter services, and the potential for more opportunities like employment and alternative education. The migration of youth to urban centres is an important factor in the inability to collect data about youth and homeless-ness in Smithers, and presumably in other rural communities. The role of family violence in youth homelessness in Smithers will be addressed by the current study; however, there is no reason to believe that it is any less a factor here than in other areas, rural or urban. (For more on youth homeless-ness, please see Anna McCormick’s article on page 13 of this issue.)

FIRST NATIONS

The Northwest is rich with First Nations culture and experience. However, what little national data do exist suggest that Aboriginal persons are over-represented in the homeless population. Studies vary widely in their estimates, but some report that Aboriginal women may comprise up to 25 percent of the homeless population. When First Nations persons leave home, they leave behind a community network of extended family supports and cultural traditions, which increases their vulnerability. At the same time, racism and discrimination are barriers to employment, and therefore the risk of poverty is also increased. The lack of information on Aboriginal homelessness in urban or rural populations does not help us understand the causes, but it highlights a desperate need for more and better information. (For more on Aboriginal homelessness, please see Charlotte Mearns’ article on page 22 of this issue.) The Smithers study will take one small step toward filling this gap by asking questions specific to the Aboriginal population.

CONCLUSION

As community members, we have a responsibility to acknowledge the experience of all of our citizens and incorporate pro-active policies and strategies on homelessness into our community planning. Being a small, rural community we have social and familial networks that span generations, so our capacity for supporting one another has the potential to be great. I, for one, feel more aware of the complexities associated with rural homelessness as a result of my participation on the Homelessness in Smithers research committee and I look forward to assisting with the education of the community at large once the project is completed.

Carol Seychuk is the Executive Director of the Northern Society for Domestic Peace and a board member with the BC Institute Against Family Violence.

REFERENCES

Begin, P, Casavant, L, Chenier, NM, and Dupuis, J (1999) Homelessness, Ottawa ON: Library of Parliament, Parliamentary Research Branch.

Bourbannais, C, Brown, J, and Novac, S (1996) No Room of Her Own: A Literature Review on Women and Homelessness,
Ottawa ON: Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation.

Statistics Canada (2001)
Census: Collective Dwellings.

Ministry Information System (2004) Transition House Services, Smithers Shelter, unpublished.