By: Jessica, Sofia, Camille and Maya
Imagine going through the hardships that homeless people are forced to go through. You have a home, a place to hang your coat, a soft bed for you to sink in at the end of a rough day… Now it’s taken away from you, and the next thing you know you’re sleeping on cardboard and begging for spare change. You can’t afford dinner and there is no one to protect you during the cold nights. To add to that, people are afraid of you, strangers look at you and maybe they say nothing but in their eyes there is fear. They think you are dangerous. They think you’re dangerous because you have no place to live.
Homelessness is a problem in our city and most people know it. The question is, do we really know just how serious this problem is?
There are countless stereotypes about the homeless, some being that they’re all addicts, dangerous, that it’s their fault they’re on the street. People consider homeless criminals, or perhaps lazy. However, these stereotypes are not always true. For example people on the streets are anything but lazy. They have to manage to get food, find shelter, and survive out in the city.
Greater Victorians cited the primary causes of homelessness as mental health issues (98%), poverty (94%), drug and/or alcohol abuse (93%), physical, cognitive or other disability (83%) and unemployment (83%).
According to the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, approximately 250 supportive housing units (temporary homes and places that include individualized, flexible and voluntary support services) were built, compared to 460 affordable housing units (low-cost market housing) since 2008. However, 250 or possibly more supportive housing units are required, as well as 1500 affordable housing units to end homelessness completely in Victoria.
There are many different types of homelessness. Three of the most common types are transitional, episodic, and chronic homelessness. Transitional homelessness occurs when someone is forced into homelessness because of uncontrollable circumstances. This might be losing a job, a family crisis, or losing important material goods. Episodic homelessness is when a person repeatedly falls in and out of homelessness. This often happens with people with mental health issues or drug addictions. Chronic homelessness occurs when a person is in the street for a particularly long period of time and very few or no resources are at their disposition to modify their situation.
Often ignored is hidden homelessness. This is when people are forced to temporarily live with family, friends, in their car, or anywhere else because they have nowhere else to live. In 2014, 8% of the Canadians aged fifteen and over reported that they had experienced this situation. The table below gives information on youth homelessness in that period:
18%: experienced hidden homelessness for at least 1 year
55%: for less than one year but more than one month
27%: for less than one month
All these statistics show how rough homelessness can be. Just remember there are faces and stories behind these numbers.
You can act to make a difference, with something as simple as a smile. It can make someone morein’s day.
“Who are we as human beings if we ignore the suffering of others?”
-Anonymous
For more information, please see:
-CBC.ca
-Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness
-Réseau solidarité du Québec (2006)
-https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2016001/article/14678-eng.htm
-http://homelesshub.ca/blog/picture-isnt-pretty
-https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/search?id=2E4C7D6BCAA4470AAAD2DCADF662E6A0&q=homelessness+statistics+for+british+columbia+2017 -Government of BC site, searched “homelessness statistics”
-http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/unique-richmond-escape-room-shows-how-tough-it-is-to-leave-homelessness