A primer on affordable housing and homelessness

Summary

• Senior levels of government in Canada provide various forms of support for housing, including for homeowners.
• Social assistance (i.e. ‘welfare’) provides assistance to many low-income Canadians, but, for the most part, not enough for appropriate private-rental accommodation.
• Fewer than half of very low-income Canadians are fortunate enough to live in “social housing” (which involves subsidized rent levels).

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

Summary (cont’d)

• Indeed, there are lengthy waiting lists for social housing all across Canada.
• The percentage of Canadian households who live in social housing is considerably lower than the OECD average.
• Canada’s rate of ‘social renting’ is 5%. In The Netherlands, the rate is 34%. In Sweden, it’s 32%.

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

Summary (cont’d)

• People who are homeless (i.e. sleeping in emergency shelters or outside) experience certain health problems at much higher rates than the general population.
• They also die much more quickly.
• They are also considerably more likely to be assaulted (both physically and sexually).

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)

Summary (cont’d)

• Over the past decade, it has become quite trendy for senior levels of government in Canada to claim that they believe in the Housing First principle.
• In other words, they state that they hold the philosophical view that homeless persons should be given immediate access to affordable housing.
• Note: This is not the same thing as agreeing to provide sufficient funding for every homeless person to live in affordable housing.

• Nick Falvo: United Church Women (Feb. 17, 2014)