Homelessness & Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Homelessness

First Nations, Metis and Inuit individuals, families or communitites lacking stable, permanent, appropriate housing or the immediate prospect, means, or ability to acquire such housing

What % of Homeless Youth are Indigenous

30.6%

What % of the Canadian Population is Indigenous

4.3%

Homelessness is NOT Just a

lack of shelter

Indigenous Homelessness Is Described and Understood Through

a composite lens of Indigenous wordviews inclduing: individuals, families and communities isolated from their relationship to land, water, place, family, kin, each other, animals, cultures, languages and identities

Historic Displacement Homelessness

made historically homeless after being displaced from pre-colonial Indigenous lands

Overcrowding Homelessness

the number of people per dwelling in urban and rural Indigenous households that exceeds the national Canadian household average, thus contributing to and creating unsafe, unhealthy, and overcrowded living spaces, in turn causing homelessness

Nowhere to Go Homelessness

a complete lack of access to stable shelter, housing, accommodation, shelter services or relationships, literally having nowhere to go 

Escaping or Evading Harm Homelessness

Indigenous persons fleeing, leaving or vacating unstable, unsafe, unhealthy or overcrowded households or homes to obtain a measure of safety or to survive

Housing Conditions - Substandard

places pressure on people to leave their communities to secure housing

Substandard Living Increases

risk of homelessness

% of First Nations People Living on Reserves in Housing in Need of Repairs

34.7%

Homelessness Among Indigenous People

35% of homeless individuals during 2020-2022 PiT count

Why Are Rates of Homelessness Higher Among Indigenous Peoples

• traced back to historical trauma, oppression, racism and discrimination

• consequences of European colonization of North America

Residential Schools

forcibly remove Indigenous children from families and communities

Residential Schools Are

government-sponsored religious schools

• assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture

Residential Schools Disrupted

lives and comunities causing long-term problems among Indigenous peoples

Residential Schools in Canada

over 130 residential schools

How Long Were Residential Schools Open

from 1831-1996

How Many Residential Schools Were Operating in Canada in 1931

over 80

How Many Children Attended Residential Schools

150,000

How Many People Died in Residential Schools

6,000 (records incomplete)

Long-Term Effects of Residential Schools

• negative impact on health and QOL

• lack basic reading & writting skills (resulting in lower paying jobs and lower standard of living)

• trauma has led to self-abuse

First Nations People and Suicide

• First Nations women attempt suicide 8x more often

• First Nations men attempt suicide 5x more often

Children Of Parents Who Attended Residential Schools

2.35x more likely to experience sexual assault

Intergenerational Trauma

collective complex trauma inflicted on a group of people who share a specific group identity/affiliation - ethnicity, nationality, religious affiliation

Intergenerational Trauma Affects

the legacy of numerous traumatic events a community experiences over generations and encompasses the psychological and social response to such events

Sixties Scoops Occured In

1960s

Sixties Scoop

large removal or “scooping” of Indigenous children from their homes, communities and families into child welfare 

Sixties Scoop Resulted In

loss of sense of cultural identity

Difficult Truths

1. Indigenous people do not choose to be homeless

2. The experience is negative, stressful, and traumatic 

3. Homelessness forces a disproportionate number of Indigenous people into activities deemed criminal by the state

4. The higher mortality rate in First Nations, Metis and Inuit has been ignored too long

Growing Concerns in Canada - Indigenous Youth and Homelessness

• overrepresented in homeless population

• overrepresented in child welfare system

• more likely to experience hidden homelessness

Indigenous Youth Homelessness is the Result of

growing up in families facing extreme poverty and negative experiences growing up in the child welfare system

Structural Barriers/Factors

• Unemployment → low wages or lack of income 

• Racism or discrimination  

• Cultural and geographic displacement 

• Reserve system 

• Family histories of trauma 

• Negative experience: child welfare system, education system

Loss of Housing/Inadequate Housing

• Substandard housing 

• Over-crowded housing 

• Unaffordable housing 

• Economic insecurity

• Inaccessible housing

Youth Experience Homelssness Differently Than Adults

• varying levels of physical, mental, social, emotional development 

• do not lose stable housing, but lose the caregiver they once relied on 

• may result in interruption and rupture of social relations with parents/caregivers, family members, friends and neighbours

Personal Factors Contributing to Indigenous Youth Homelessness

• FASD

• addictions

• poverty

• poor health

• dysfunctional family relations

• lack of resources on reserves

• SES - socioeconomic status

Participants Demographics - From Reading

• 1103 homeless Canadian youth - 322 identified as Indigenous

• data collected from Nanavut & all provinces except PEI

Indigenous Female Youth

• become homeless earlier

• had higher psychiatric symptoms

• reported more physical/sexual abuse, mental health issues and parent substance use

Indigenous Youth Experienced

• earlier first homelessness (15-16)

• higher psychiatric symptoms

• higher substance abuse/dependence

• more involvement with child protection removal

• more physical and sexual abuse before homelessness

Public Health Implications

• increase/strengthen Indigenous language programs 

• rural & urban education and labour training programs

• culturally specific shelters 

• substance use intervention services

• reconnecting youth with family members and elders 

• equipping Indigenous communities with appropriate resources

Raising the Roof

national charity dedicated to finding long-term solutions to the growing problems of homelessness

3 Components to Adressing Homelessness

1. adequate, affordable housing (access to safe, secure and adequate housing is priority)

2. sufficient money to live on (cash from work or social assistance)

3. treatment/support services

3 Main Ways we Can Adress Homelessness

1. Prevention: stopping people from becoming homeless

2. Emergency response: providing emergency supports like shelter, food, and day programs

3. Housing, accommodation, and supports: providing housing and ongoing supports to move people out of homelessness

Solutions May Include

services such as housing support services, job training, education, substance abuse treatment, physical and mental health care, counselling, assistance in job search, transitional shelter 

Is Housing a Human Right

yes because homelessness is a human right violation

Youth Raised on Reserve

greater substance/alchol abuse challenges

LGBTQ2S Indigenous Youth

• earlier homelessness

• lower quality of life 

• higher psychiatric symptoms 

• higher substance abuse/dependence 

• more physical and sexual abuse 

• more negative child protection experiences 

• much higher suicide attempt and overdose rates