Month: September 2023

Concepts, Definitions and Measures

It is helpful to first think about what food security is.

The United Nations defines food security as when “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life”.[i]

Household food insecurity is the inadequate or insecure access to food because of financial constraints.[ii]  Food insecurity ranges from marginal to severe.

• Marginal food insecurity exists when households worry about running out of food and / or limit their food selection due to cost.
• Moderate food insecurity occurs when people compromise the quality and / or quantity of food consumed due to cost.
• Severe food insecurity occurs when people miss meals, reduce their food intake or, at the most extreme go for day(s) without food.

Recent Trends in Canada

• 6% of people living in the provinces experienced marginal, moderate, or severe food insecurity in 2019.[iii] This included 7.9% who were moderately food insecure and 3.6% who were severely food insecure.
• Food insecurity is highest in the Territories. In 2017/18, almost half (49%) of all households in Nunavut experienced some level of food insecurity, followed by the Northwest Territories (15.9%) and the Yukon (12.6%). Among the provinces, Quebec reported the lowest rate of food insecurity rate (7.4%), and Nova Scotia the highest (10.9%).[iv]
• Although not a perfect indicator of food insecurity, reliance on emergency food assistance can indicate unmet food needs. Between 2019 and 2021, food bank visits in Canada increased by 20.3%, and March 2021 saw 1.3 million visits to food banks.[v]

Who is Food Insecure?

While food insecurity can affect anyone, certain population groups may be more at risk than others.

• In 2019, food insecurity rates were the lowest for persons in senior couples, and highest for persons in female lone-parent families. Single adults and lone-parent families also had a food insecurity rate higher than the national average.⁵
• Rates of food insecurity are high among post-secondary students, ranging from 42% in 2017[vi] to 57% in 2021.[vii] International students, Indigenous, Latinx, and Black students, 2SLGBTQ+ identifying students, as well as students experiencing precarious housing face a heightened vulnerability to food insecurity.^vii
• Indigenous peoples, recent immigrants, and persons with a disability are more likely to face food insecurity; in 2019, the number of Indigenous people moderately or severely food insecure was more than double the overall population.⁵
• Most food insecure households are in the workforce, and they might be in low-wage jobs and precarious work conditions.
• Households experiencing food insecurity can be both renters and homeowners, though the rate of food insecurity is significantly higher among those living in rental accommodations.[viii]

While there is value in understanding who is more likely to experience food insecurity, it is important to avoid portraying social groups as inherently vulnerable.[ix] The underlying systems that make some people vulnerable must be addressed, such as the legacy of colonization, poverty, and systemic racism. People who experience food insecurity have important perspectives and insights and should be meaningfully included in decision-making processes.

Complex Causes of Food Insecurity

Income Levels

Food insecurity essentially stems from the ability of people to afford the food that they need.[x] Income levels impact food insecurity, including low-wage jobs and precarious work conditions. Insufficient social assistance benefits render households, especially single-person households, at a high risk for being food insecure; in fact, one in five households that rely on government benefits are severely food insecure.⁴

Cost of Other Basic Needs

Other factors that affect the ability to afford nutritious food include the cost of other basic needs, such as housing, where trade-offs may be made between purchasing food and paying rent or utility bills. Food insecurity is highest among those who rent, with 19% of tenants reported to be moderately or severely food insecure, compared to just 4% of homeowners.[xi]

Unexpected costs or events, such as major repairs or sudden job loss can affect the ability to afford food.

The cost of food itself can also pose a barrier, and recent increases in the price of food may affect lower-income households more severely.[xii]

Social Factors

Social factors such as the lack of transportation to access healthy food, the cultural appropriateness of available and affordable food lack of storage for healthy food, and a lack of time for the preparation of healthy food can also affect food security.

Impacts of Food Insecurity

Food insecurity can cause negative impacts to children’s long-term physical and mental health. It can increase their risk of conditions such as depression and asthma, increase the risk of suicidal ideation, and impact school performance and development.[xiii]

The impacts of food insecurity are experienced by adults as well; they are linked to overall poorer health and chronic conditions (such as depression, diabetes, and heart disease), and can lead to higher medical costs as existing medical conditions are difficult to manage.[xiv]

At its most extreme, food insecurity is also associated with premature mortality, with the average lifespan of adults from severely food insecure households being nine years shorter than those from food secure households.[xv]

Food insecurity also has important social impacts. The inability to provide adequate food can be associated with feelings of shame and a fear of blame. This may lead people to detach themselves from social life. Further, food is often an important form of socializing and the inability to offer food can lead to reduced socialization, particularly for children when parents cannot afford to offer food to childhood friends.[xvi]

Policy and Best Practice in Addressing Food Insecurity

Access to food is a basic human right. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to which Canada is a signatory states: “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.” Article 11 (1). Looking at food insecurity with a human rights approach means that you understand that there are “certain rights that everyone is entitled to, regardless of who they are or where they come from”.[xvii] This approach views the lack of adequate food as a human rights violation, rather than simply the decisions made by individuals, or policies and programs not working.

One important approach to affecting the root causes of food insecurity is to address the link between income and food insecurity. This can be done by improving the financial resources of households with low incomes through specific policy interventions. Policies that increase wages and the quality of employment will reduce the risk of food insecurity among those who are employed. Enhancing Canada’s social protections through appropriate levels of income assistance would further ensure that those requiring income supports are not at risk of food insecurity. In particular, the introduction of a Universal Basic Income would address the problem of food insecurity broadly as food insecurity impacts a diversity of households, and a Basic Income Guarantee can universally reach any household with an inadequate income.[xviii]

Role of Psychology in Addressing Food Insecurity

Psychology has a critical role to play in food insecurity, along with poverty and homelessness, which are closely related.

In terms of mental health services, unfortunately, many people who are food insecure are unable to care for their basic needs. Economically, people who are food insecure are less likely to have sufficient income to pay for privately provided psychological services and are less likely to seek out psychological services. As such, psychologists can work with local housing services, shelter services, community organizations, and food banks – to name a few – to bring their services to these individuals on a sliding scale or pro bono manner. More psychologists should be included in more client-centered, recovery-oriented mental health service delivery at the community level.

Psychology also has a critical role to play in advocacy, particularly as relates to: 1) food availability (a reliable and consistent source of quality food); 2) food access (people have sufficient resources to produce and/or purchase food); 3) food utilization (people have sufficient food and cooking knowledge, and basic sanitary conditions to choose, prepare, and distribute healthy food to their families; and 4) stability (a stable and sustained environment to access and use healthy foods)[xix]. It also has a role to play in advocacy as relates to the, the social determinants of health, the need for affordable housing, the need for access to mental health services, and the interplay between mental health and the social determinants, which are often connected to food insecurity. Considering different system levels, at the micro-level, psychology can liaise with a client’s wider care team and community organizations to advocate for available, accessible, stable, and nutritious food sources. At the macro-level, psychologists can advocate at the community and larger levels for policy change, for the right to food security, universal basic income, funding of affordable and/or rent geared to income housing, increased social assistance, and access to mental health services.

Within academia, community psychology should be taught as part of introductory psychology courses, and more community psychology faculty and researchers should be hired.

In terms of research, psychology can be used to understand:

• Understand attitudes and behaviours of and towards those who experience food insecurity. This can include how to increase support and collective action towards food insecurity, along with identifying possible interventions – both individual and structural.
• Understand social responses to food insecurity that maintain barriers to addressing this problem.
• Evaluate effectiveness of public health initiatives and education to shift social responses to food security.
• Employ different research methodologies and approaches, including but not limited to collaborating with individuals with lived experiences and with Indigenous leaders.
• Exploring the different components of food insecurity, and how they in turn impact individuals of different walks of life.

Psychology can also facilitate forums in which different professions, organizations, and pioneer psychologist leaders in addressing food insecurity, can come together to have interdisciplinary conversations about solutions to food insecurity, and then present any findings via consolidated advocacy efforts to relevant government bodies and agencies.

For Additional Information

Additional information and resources about food insecurity in Canada are available from the following sources.

• PROOF (Food Insecurity Policy Research)
• Food Banks Canada
• Dieticians of Canada
• Community Food Centers Canada
• Food Secure Canada

You can consult with a registered psychologist to find out if psychological interventions might be of help to you. Provincial, territorial and some municipal associations of psychology often maintain referral services. For the names and coordinates of provincial and territorial associations of psychology, go to  https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations/.

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by:

The Canadian Poverty Institute
Ambrose University
150 Ambrose Circle SW
Calgary, Alberta T3H 0L5

www.povertyinstitute.ca; povertyinstitute@ambrose.edu

 Date: May 2023

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the Psychology Works Fact Sheets:  factsheets@cpa.ca

Canadian Psychological Association

Tel: 613-237-2144
Toll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657

hr

References

[i] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2021. Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all. Rome: FAO, 2021.

[ii] Tarasuk, V. & Mitchell, A., Household food insecurity in Canada, 2017-18. Toronto: PROOF, 2020.

[iii] PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research, New food insecurity data for 2019 from Statistics Canada. Toronto: PROOF, 2022.

[iv] Caron, N. & Plunkett-Latimer, J. Canadian Income Survey: Food insecurity and unmet health care needs, 2018 and 2019. Statistics Canada: 2022.

[v] Food Banks Canada, HungerCount 2021. Mississauga: Food Banks Canada, 2021.

[vi] Hamilton, Taylor, D., Huisken, A., & Bottorff, J. L. (2020). Correlates of food insecurity among undergraduate students. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 50(2), 15–23. https://doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v50i2.188699

[vii] Meal Exchange. (2021). 2021 National Student Food Insecurity Report. Retrieved from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fa8521696a5fd2ab92d32e6/t/6318b24f068ccf1571675884/1662562897883/2021+National+Student+Food+Insecurity+Report+-3.pdf

[viii] Tarasuk, V. & Mitchell, A., Household food insecurity in Canada, 2017-18. Toronto: PROOF, 2020.

[ix] Sauchyn, D., Davidson, D., & Johnston, M., Prairie Provinces; Chapter 4 in Canada in a Changing Climate: Regional Perspectives Report, Government of Canada: 2020.

[x] Tarasuk, V., Implications of a basic income guarantee for household food insecurity, Thunder Bay: Northern Policy Institute: 2017.

[xi] Statistics Canada. Household Food Insecurity in Canada. Ottawa: Government of Canada: 2020.

[xii] Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Canada’s food price report: 2022. Dalhousie University, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan, & The University of British Columbia: 2022.

[xiii] PROOF. Household food insecurity in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto. Available [online] https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/. Accessed 18-03-2022.

[xiv] Tarasuk, V., Mitchell, A., & Dachner, N., Household food insecurity in Canada, 2014. Toronto: PROOF: 2016.

[xv] PROOF. Ibid.

[xvi] Purdam, K., E. Garratt and A. Esmail. “Hungry? Food Insecurity, Social Stigma and Embarrassment in the UK.” Sociology. Vol 50, No. 6: 1072-1088. December 2016.

[xvii] Canada Without Poverty, Human rights and poverty reduction strategies. Ottawa: Canada Without Poverty: 2015.

[xviii] Tarasuk, V., Implications of a Basic Income Guarantee for household food insecurity, Thunder Bay: Northern Policy Institute: 2017.

Concepts, Definitions and Measures

The common understanding of poverty is that it involves a critical lack of income that interferes with a person’s ability to meet their basic needs. The experience of poverty, however, is much more complex. The Oxford Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) includes the following factors, in addition to income, as constitutive of poverty: quality of work; empowerment; physical safety; social connectedness; psychological well-being, and happiness.[i] The multi-dimensional nature of poverty is reflected in the definition of poverty that was recently adopted by the Government of Canada in its national poverty strategy. According to this definition, poverty is: The condition of a person who is deprived of the resources, means, choices and power necessary to acquire and maintain a basic level of living standards and to facilitate integration and participation in society[ii].

Despite the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, poverty measures continue to be based on income. One important measure of poverty is the Low Income Measure (LIM).

This internationally used measure defines a household as poor if it is earning less than 50% of the median income, adjusted for household size.

In Canada, the Market Basket Measure (MBM) has been adopted as the official measure of poverty. The MBM considers a household poor if its income is insufficient to purchase a basket of goods and services deemed essential for basic human functioning. Income thresholds are adjusted for household size and the region in which one lives.

In 2019, the income thresholds for a family of four (2 adults and 2 children) for major Canadian cities were as follows[iii]:

Halifax – $46,147	Winnipeg – $45,164
Montreal – $41,090	Calgary – $49,462
Toronto – $49,304	Vancouver – $50,055

 

Incidence of Poverty

According to Canada’s official measure of poverty, 3.73 million Canadians were living in poverty in 2018, accounting for 10.1% of the population.

Poverty rates vary by region.

Just under 10% of children under the age of 18 were living in poverty that same year[iv].

Profile

Certain population groups are at greater risk of poverty. In Canada, populations with a higher incidence of poverty include persons living alone, Indigenous persons, racialized persons, recent immigrants, persons with disabilities, and lone-parent families.[v]

Causes of Poverty

Poverty is often thought to result from the deficits of an individual. Lack of education or skills, poor language proficiency, mental health or addictions challenges, lack of financial literacy and poor life choices are some of the factors that can increase a person’s risk of poverty. While these factors do contribute to poverty, it is also important to understand the social conditions in which a person lives.

Where a person is in their life course is an important contributing factor. Stages of life where there is increased dependency, such as childhood or advanced age, increase the risk of poverty. Also at risk are caregivers who support people in dependent situations. Social connections also matter, as those who are isolated or living alone tend to have above average rates of poverty. The stigma attached to poverty can also limit one’s life choices.

Finally, systemic forces act to increase the risk of poverty. Workers employed in precarious positions that are part-time, insecure, and low-waged are at much greater risk of poverty. The lack of recognition of foreign credentials places many immigrants at an increased risk of poverty. Structural conditions including racism, discrimination, patriarchy, and the impacts of colonization are further factors that greatly increase the risk of poverty for people from particular social groups. The inadequacy of Social Assistance benefits further impacts those whose life circumstances require them to rely on income supports, leaving them in deep poverty.

Impacts of Poverty

Poverty comes at a cost. It is estimated that Canada spends between $72.5 and 86.1 billion annually due to the costs associated with poverty[vi] while the annual cost of homelessness is estimated at $7 billion.[vii]

Poverty is associated with reduced levels of trust and social cohesion that affect all of society.[viii]

Poverty also compromises the mental and physical health of adults and children and compromises cognitive functioning.[ix] The developmental impacts on children are particularly important as they can affect future life chances throughout adulthood, affecting biological, cognitive, emotional, and social domains of development. Lack of nutrition, increased experienced stress, decreased maternal supports, increased exposure to trauma and violent neighborhoods interact in a cumulative manner. Noted latent outcomes, resistant to intervention, result from permanent impacts on the developing brain. Specifically, the child is more likely to experience heightened anxiety, emotional difficulties, and difficulties in learning stemming from executive functioning deficits.[x] [xi] These outcomes limit gains in language development, reading and writing and social development. They may also result in problems maintaining healthy relations with parents, peers, and authority figures, such as teachers.[xii] [xiii] [xiv] These cumulative

impacts have been connected to increases in deviant behaviour, early pregnancy, and school dropout, thereby limiting social destinations that increase health and well-being.[xv] [xvi] [xvii]

Policy and Best Practice

Increasingly, poverty is understood as a violation of human rights. Under the international human rights framework of which Canada is a part, people are guaranteed the right to work, fair wages, safe and healthy working conditions, to form or join trade unions, an adequate standard of living, social security, food, clothing, housing, education, health care, and participation in cultural life.[xviii] From this standpoint, addressing poverty involves ensuring that the full array of rights people enjoy are realized. In 2018, Canada adopted a national poverty strategy called Opportunity for All.[xix] This federal strategy has three pillars:

• Dignity: Lifting Canadians out of poverty by ensuring basic needs—such as safe and affordable housing, healthy food, and health care are met
• Opportunity and Inclusion: Helping Canadians join the middle class by promoting full participation in society and equality of opportunity
• Resilience and Security: Supporting the middle class by protecting Canadians from falling into poverty and by supporting income security and resilience

The national strategy acknowledges that freedom from poverty is a human right.

Role of Psychology in Addressing Poverty

Psychology has a critical role to play in addressing poverty, along with homelessness and food insecurity which are often outcomes/consequences of poverty.

In terms of mental health services, unfortunately, many people who are experiencing poverty are unable to care for their basic needs and may subsequently experience in transient circumstances compounded by unmanaged mental health, trauma, or substance use challenges. Economically, people who are experiencing poverty do not have sufficient income to pay for privately provided psychological services, nor may they know where to begin in terms of finding a psychologist. As such, psychologists can work with local housing, shelter, or community services to bring their services to where the impoverished are, and if able, to do so on a sliding scale or pro bono manner. More psychologists should be included in more client-centered, recovery-oriented mental health service delivery at the community level.

Psychology also has a critical role to play in advocacy, particularly as relates to the anti-poverty initiatives, social determinants of health, the need for affordable housing and food security, the need for access to mental health services that are covered under provincial health plans, and the interplay between mental health and the social determinants. Considering different system levels, at the micro-level, psychology can liaise with a client’s wider care team and community organizations to ensure their core health and psychological needs are met. At the macro-level, psychologists can advocate at the community and larger levels for policy change, for funding of affordable and/or rent geared to income housing, food security, increased social assistance, access to mental health services, and coverage of psychological services under provincial health plans.

Within academia, community psychology should be taught as part of introductory psychology courses, and more community psychology faculty and researchers should be hired.

In terms of research, psychology can be used to understand:

• Understand attitudes and behaviours of and towards those who experience poverty. This can include how to increase support and collective action towards combatting poverty, along with identifying possible interventions – both individual and structural.
• Understand social responses to poverty that maintain barriers to addressing this problem.
• Evaluate effectiveness of public health initiatives and education to shift social responses to poverty.
• Employ different research methodologies and approaches, including but not limited to collaborating with those with lived experience and with Indigenous leaders.
• Exploring how poverty impacts individuals of different walks of life.

Psychology can also facilitate forums in which different professions, organizations, and pioneer psychologist leaders in addressing poverty, can come together to have interdisciplinary conversations about solutions to poverty, and then present any findings via consolidated advocacy efforts to relevant government bodies and agencies.

For Additional Information

• National Advisory Council on Poverty https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/poverty-reduction/national-advisory-council.html
• Canadian Poverty Hub povertyhub.ca
• Canada Without Poverty cwp-csp.ca
• Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement tamarackcommunity.ca

You can consult with a registered psychologist to find out if psychological interventions might be of help to you. Provincial, territorial and some municipal associations of psychology often maintain referral services. For the names and coordinates of provincial and territorial associations of psychology, go to  https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations/.

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by:

The Canadian Poverty Institute
Ambrose University
150 Ambrose Circle SW
Calgary, Alberta T3H 0L5

www.povertyinstitute.ca; povertyinstitute@ambrose.edu

Date: May 2023

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the Psychology Works Fact Sheets:  factsheets@cpa.ca

Canadian Psychological Association

Tel: 613-237-2144
Toll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657

---

References

[i] Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. https://ophi.org.uk/research/multidimensional- poverty/ Accessed 19 January 2022.

[ii] Government of Canada. 2018. Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy Ottawa: Government of Canada.

[iii] Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0066-01 Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by Market Basket Measure region, component, and base year. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110006601

[iv] Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0135-01 Low-income statistics by age, sex, and economic family type. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110013501

[v] Statistics Canada. 2016. Census of Canada.

[vi] Government of Canada. 2010. Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working In Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty In Canada. Report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Ottawa: Government of Canada.

[vii] Gaetz, S., J. Donaldson, T. Richter and T. Gulliver-Garcia. 2013. The State of Homelessness in Canada 2013. Toronto: The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

[viii] Ross, C. 2011. “Collective Threat, Trust and the Sense of Personal Control.” Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 52, no. 3 (September).

[ix] Mikkonen, J., & Raphael, D. 2010. Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. Toronto: York University School of Health Policy and Management.

[x] Anasuri, S. 2017. Children living in poverty: Exploring and understanding its developmental impact. Journal Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) 22, (6), Ver. 9 (June. 2017) PP 07-16.

[xi] Barch, D., Pagliaccio, D., Belden, A., Harms, M. P., Gaffrey, M., Sylvester, C. M., Tillman, R., & Luby, J. (2016). Effect of Hippocampal and Amygdala Connectivity on the Relationship Between Preschool Poverty and School-Age Depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(6), 625–634.

[xii] Anasuri. 2017. Ibid.

[xiii] Chaudry, A., & Wimer, C. 2016. Poverty is Not Just an Indicator: The Relationship Between Income, Poverty, and Child Well-Being. Academic Pediatrics, 16 (3 Suppl), S23–S29.

[xiv] Hyde, L. W., Gard, A. M., Tomlinson, R. C., Burt, S. A., Mitchell, C., & Monk, C. S. 2020. An ecological approach to understanding the developing brain: Examples linking poverty, parenting, neighborhoods, and the brain. American Psychologist, 75(9), 1245–1259.

[xv] Anasuri. 2017. Ibid.

[xvi] Larson C. P. (2007). Poverty during pregnancy: Its effects on child health outcomes. Paediatrics & Child Health, 12(8), 673–677.

[xvii] Maggi, S., Irwin, L. J., Siddiqi, A., & Hertzman, C. (2010). The social determinants of early child development: an overview. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 46(11), 627–635.

[xviii] Canada Without Poverty. n.d. Human Rights and Poverty Reduction Strategies: A Guide to International Human Rights Law and its Domestic Application in Poverty Reduction Strategies. Ottawa: Canada Without Poverty.

[xix] Government of Canada. 2018. Ibid.

Concepts, Definitions and Measures

The condition of homelessness is a continuum that ranges from being unsheltered to emergency sheltered, to provisionally accommodated, to those at risk of homelessness.

• Unsheltered: People who reside in places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, abandoned buildings, alleys, and streets.
• Emergency Sheltered: People residing in shelters, including those fleeing domestic violence.
• Provisionally Sheltered: People living in insecure accommodations, such as staying temporarily with family or friends[i].
• At risk of homelessness are said to be in “Core Housing Need”. According to Statistics Canada “A household is said to be in ‘core housing need’ if its housing falls below at least one of the adequacy, affordability or suitability standards and it would have to spend 30% or more of its total before-tax income to pay the median rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable (meets all three housing standards).”[ii] Affordability is achieved when housing costs less than 30% of family income. To meet the standard for adequacy, no major repairs to the dwelling are required and the household has sufficient income to manage expenses including major repairs. Housing is considered suitable when it has enough bedrooms appropriate for the size and makeup of the household.

It is also important to distinguish between chronic and episodic homelessness.

• Chronically homeless: Those who have been homeless for six months or more
• Episodically homeless: Those who experienced three or more episodes of homelessness that lasted less than six months[iii].

Incidence and Trends

There are an estimated 35,000 Canadians who are homeless across Canada on any given night, and over 235,000 experience homelessness at some time throughout the year.

• The population of provisionally housed could further include as much as 50,000 on any night[iv], while an estimated 8% of the general population have been provisionally housed at some point in their life[v]. Over half (55%) of those who are provisionally housed were in the situation for more than one month.
• Among those who relied on emergency shelters, the average shelter stay is around 10 days[vi].
• Approximately two-thirds (60%) of those experiencing homelessness are chronically homeless[vii].
• Across Canada, 1,644,900 households were reported to be in core housing need in 2018 and therefore at some risk of homelessness[viii].

Profile of Persons Experiencing or At Risk of Homelessness

Certain groups of people remain at greater risk of homelessness than others.

• Across Canada, Indigenous persons account for a disproportionate share of those who are unsheltered or provisionally housed. Indigenous persons account for between 28 and 34% of shelter residents, despite accounting for just 4.3% of the total population[ix]. It is also estimated that 18% of Indigenous persons have been provisionally housed at some point in their life[x].
• Roughly half (52%) of persons experiencing homelessness in Canada are adults between the ages of 25-49.
• Youth, however, constitute an important group, with those between the ages of 13 and 24 accounting for an estimated 19% of the population that is homeless. Of youth experiencing homelessness, roughly one in five identify as LGBTQ2S[xi].
• Over one quarter (27%) of the population that is homeless are women[xii].

Diverse and Complex Causes of Homelessness

Affordability of Housing

One critical factor is the affordability of housing. This is a combination of inadequate income and rapidly increasing costs for both rental and owned accommodations. Related to this is insufficient investments in social housing resulting in significant waiting lists among those in need of affordable accommodation. Insufficient income support benefits are a further contributing factor as those receiving social assistance are typically unable to afford market rents. The lack of affordable accommodation increases vulnerability to homelessness caused by other factors.

Violence and Abuse

Domestic violence can lead to homelessness, particularly among women. Those fleeing situations of violence may be unable to find affordable alternate accommodation. Meanwhile, emergency shelters for domestic violence survivors are often at capacity, while the allowable time to remain in shelter is restricted.

Among youth, situations of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in the home can also lead to youth fleeing into homelessness.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Mental health and substance abuse issues also contribute to homelessness.  This is in part due to policies of de-institutionalization and reductions in community supports for people experiencing these issues. Similarly, poorly coordinated transitions from institutional care, such as health, corrections, or child welfare, often leave people without supports and at risk of homelessness.

Personal Circumstances

Personal circumstances can further result in homelessness. Family or relationships breakdown, not necessarily because of violence, is a risk factor, including experiences of trauma or abuse in childhood.

Traumatic or disruptive events, such as job loss, fire, or onset of a mental or physical disability can also result in homelessness.

Finally, the risk of homelessness cannot be dissociated from other broader patterns of socio-economic disadvantage and marginalization including racism, patriarchy, and colonization.

Impacts of Homelessness

There are a variety of individual and societal impacts of homelessness.

• Economically, it is estimated that the cost of homelessness in Canada is roughly $7B annually[xiii].
• At an individual level, persons who are homeless experience reduced mental and physical health due to compromised immune systems, poor hygiene and nutrition, crowded living conditions, or risks from sleeping outside.
• Persons who are homeless are also at greater risk of violence. A report on the safety of people sleeping rough in Toronto found that about one third had been hit, kicked, or experienced some other form of violence. A similar proportion had been the target of things being thrown at them, while almost one in ten had been urinated on while homeless[xiv]. An earlier (1993) report found that over one-in-five homeless women (21%) reported having been raped in the previous year[xv].
• It is also estimated that homelessness can reduce life expectancy by as much as 40%[xvi].

Policy and Best Practice in Addressing Homelessness

The right to housing is increasingly being used as the framework for understanding homelessness in Canada. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees the right to housing. In Canada, the right to housing was recently affirmed in the National Housing Strategy, which includes the establishment of a Housing Advocate. Despite this, housing is not a guaranteed right in either The Constitution Act (1867), or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, nor is it protected by the provinces.

The National Housing Strategy re-establishes a commitment by the federal government to work toward the provision of adequate and affordable housing in line with Canada’s international human rights obligations. This is an important reassertion of the federal role in housing following the withdrawal of the government from affordable housing in the 1990’s. Over the past two decades, municipalities have taken a leading role in addressing homelessness. Many cities have developed Ten Year Plans to End Homelessness. Over that time, “Housing First” has emerged as a dominant philosophy in addressing homelessness. Housing First is based on the principle of the right to housing and aims to move chronically homeless people from the streets or shelter into housing immediately, while providing wrap-around supports. It assumes that stabilizing people’s lives first will provide a better environment from which other life challenges, such as addictions, can be better addressed.

Role of Psychology in Addressing Homelessness

Psychology has a critical role to play in addressing homelessness, along with poverty and food insecurity, which are often precursors to homelessness.

In terms of mental health services, unfortunately, many people who are at risk of or who are homeless are unable to care for their basic needs and will continue in transient circumstances due to unmanaged mental health, trauma, or substance use challenges. Economically, people who are at risk of or who are homeless do not have employment which provides coverage for psychological services, do not have sufficient income to pay for privately provided psychological services, nor may they know where to begin in terms of finding a psychologist. As such, psychologists can work with local housing or shelter services to bring their services to where the homeless, and if able, to do so on a sliding scale or pro bono manner. More psychologists should be included in more client-centered, recovery-oriented mental health service delivery at the community level.

Psychology also has a critical role to play in advocacy, particularly as relates to the social determinants of health, the need for affordable housing, the need for access to mental health services, and the interplay between mental health and the social determinants. Considering different system levels, at the micro-level, psychology can liaise with a client’s wider care team and community organizations for access to housing. At the macro-level, psychologists can advocate at the community and larger levels for policy change, for funding of affordable and/or rent geared to income housing, increased social assistance, and access to mental health services.

Within academia, community psychology should be taught as part of introductory psychology courses, and more community psychology faculty and researchers should be hired.

In terms of research, psychology can be used to understand:

• Understand attitudes and behaviours of and towards those who experience homelessness. This can include how to increase support and collective action towards decreasing homelessness, along with identifying possible interventions – both individual and structural.
• Understand social responses to homelessness that maintain barriers to addressing this problem.
• Evaluate effectiveness of public health initiatives and education to shift social responses to homelessness.
• Employ different research methodologies and approaches, including but not limited to collaborating with Indigenous leaders, as well as incorporating Indigenous teachings and knowledge.
• Exploring how homelessness (or being at risk of homelessness) impacts individuals of different walks of life.

Psychology can also facilitate forums in which different professions, organizations, and pioneer psychologist leaders in addressing homelessness, can come together to have interdisciplinary conversations about solutions to homelessness, and then present any findings via consolidated advocacy efforts to relevant government bodies and agencies.

 

For Additional Information

Additional information and resources about homelessness in Canada are available from the following sources.

• Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH)
• Canadian Mortgage and Housing Company (CMHC)
• Centre for Equal Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
• Homeless Hub
• National Right to Housing Network
• National Housing Strategy: A Place to Call Home

 

You can consult with a registered psychologist to find out if psychological interventions might be of help to you. Provincial, territorial and some municipal associations of psychology often maintain referral services. For the names and coordinates of provincial and territorial associations of psychology, go to  https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations/.

 

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by:

The Canadian Poverty Institute
Ambrose University
150 Ambrose Circle SW
Calgary, Alberta T3H 0L5
www.povertyinstitute.ca; povertyinstitute@ambrose.edu

Date: November 2022

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the Psychology Works Fact Sheets:  factsheets@cpa.ca

Canadian Psychological Association

Tel: 613-237-2144
Toll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657

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References

[i] Gaetz, S., E. Dej, T. Richter, and M. Redman. 2016. The State of Homelessness in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness.

[ii] Statistics Canada. 2017. Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016. Ottawa: Ministry of Industry.

[iii] Government of Canada. 2019. Everyone Counts 2018: Highlights – Preliminary Results from the Second Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness in Canadian Communities. Ottawa: Employment and Social Development Canada.

[iv] Gaetz, S., E. Dej, T. Richter, and M. Redman. 2016. The State of Homelessness in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness.

[v] Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario www.acto.ca

[vi] Gaetz et al. 2016. Ibid.

[vii] Government of Canada. 2019. Everyone Counts 2018: Highlights – Preliminary Results from the Second Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness in Canadian Communities. Ottawa: Employment and Social Development Canada.

[viii] Statistics Canada. Table 46-10-0037-01  Dimensions of core housing need, by tenure including first-time homebuyer and social and affordable housing status

[ix] Gaetz et al. 2016. Ibid.

[x] Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario www.acto.ca

[xi] Government of Canada. 2019. Everyone Counts 2018: Highlights – Preliminary Results from the Second Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness in Canadian Communities. Ottawa: Employment and Social Development Canada.

[xii] Gaetz et al. 2016. Ibid.

[xiii] Gaetz, S., J. Donaldson, T. Richter and T. Gulliver-Garcia. 2013. The State of Homelessness in Canada 2013. Toronto: The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

[xiv] Safe Haven Toronto. “Attacks On Homeless People Make Sleeping Rough Even Rougher.” October 13, 2019. https://www.haventoronto.ca/single-post/2019/10/13/Attacks-On-The-Homeless

[xv] Crowe C, Hardill K. Nursing research and political change: the street health report. Can Nurse. 1993 Jan;89(1):21-4.

[xvi] Webster, P. 2017. “Bringing homeless deaths to light”. CMAJ. March 20, 2017 189 (11)