Edmonton Social Planning Council

Category: Blog: Housing

Blog: Evictions in Canada: Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Housing Instability

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Hanna Nash, ESPC Volunteer

In association with the University of Winnipeg, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) research report, Evictions and Eviction Prevention in Canada, discusses the impact of housing evictions on families and individuals. Authors Sarah Zell and Scott McCullough examine the consequences experienced by those who live through housing instability and discuss the contributing factors that lead to housing evictions and penalties. In addition, the authors review the drivers of housing evictions in Canada. As the report is lengthy and detailed, this research review will only focus on sections three and four, which discuss the importance of understanding housing instability causes and the writers’ overall findings.

Housing instability is commonly regarded as the consequence of influences such as a tenant’s inability to pay monthly rental fees, substance abuse, and troubled relationships. However, in this article, Zell and McCullough discuss how the challenge and disgrace of evictions can often be a primary contributing force in why tenants develop unhealthy decision-making skills and acquire poor outcomes in mental and physical health. Zell and McCullough demonstrate that evictions are often the best indication of complex needs. There is a great deal of supporting evidence that links evictions of individuals and families to a downward spiral from which they are more likely to experience substandard housing and a cycle of eviction. The disturbance of housing instability can cause such unpredictability that its consequences can affect individuals and families for multiple generations. Negative outcomes such as poor academic performance in children, family fragmentation, and depression in individuals can lead to further vulnerabilities including substance abuse and homelessness. Although evictions for tenants do not necessarily result in homelessness directly, this report provides an understanding of how homelessness can be an eventual outcome for many who have endured constant housing uncertainty.

In addition to discussing the effects of rising inflation and the widening gap between wages and the cost of living, the report also considers that evictions are on the rise due to a new variable: “renovictions.” Renovictions occur across the housing landscape—from individual landlords who may only own one or a few properties, to large scale property management groups. Landlords seeking higher profits from newly renovated units evict their tenants, causing much concern for renters of all income levels, including higher-income renters. Although higher-income tenants are likely to have more choice and greater flexibility in selecting a new home to rent, these tenants will find that they must also pay higher rent due to the lack of affordable units, thereby placing a stress on household spending and housing security. Consequently, tenants who are considered low-income and/or have disabilities will particularly feel the sting of renovictions as their affordable housing options become increasingly limited. This strain is especially felt in larger urban markets, such as Vancouver and Toronto.

Zell and McCullough demonstrate that the current housing systems are built to protect the rights of landlords, but often fail to address the realities and rights of tenants. Education for both landlords and tenants into legal rights and responsibilities of each group is part of the solution to addressing the current housing crisis faced by markets across Canada. Zell and McCullough also determine that there is not enough data for provincial and federal governments to adequately keep up with the rapid changes in the housing market. Housing policies to protect those most vulnerable cannot be created without a deeper knowledge of the actual numbers of people in Canada facing evictions, how often, and why. Without concerted and coordinated strategies put in place by governments to monitor the challenges of housing, eviction numbers will continue to rise.

Zell, S., McCullough S. (2020). Evictions and eviction prevention in Canada. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. https://eppdscrmssa01.blob.core.windows.net/cmhcprodcontainer/sf/project/archive/research_6/evictions-and-eviction-prevention-in-canada.pdf

You can read more research report reviews in the latest edition of Research Update

ESPC volunteer Hanna Nash enjoys ballet performances and other live theatre, as well as outdoor sports, and travelling to new countries. Hanna is interested in sharing information and knowledge to Edmonton’s diverse communities.
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December 14, 2021
Blog: It’s time for an upgrade: Improving emergency shelter standards in Edmonton

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Written by Brett Lambert, Community Engagement Coordinator

For more than a decade, ending chronic homelessness has been a high priority for the City of Edmonton. The city was praised for reducing its homeless population in half, from 3,200 in 2009 to 1,600 in 2019. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this progress has experienced a major setback. To date, the number of people in Edmonton experiencing homelessness is nearly 2,700 according to Homeward Trust Edmonton.

As a result of the pandemic, temporary encampments popped up, most notably Camp Pekiwewin and Peace Camp. These camps served to raise awareness for the situation of Edmonton’s unhoused populations and the need for tangible and concrete action, particularly in the area of supportive housing.

With emergency shelters available for the unhoused, some might wonder why do encampments exist at all? While there are complexities to this dynamic, a lot boils down to safety concerns and a sense of belonging. Violent incidents, outbreaks of COVID-19, and gaps in accommodations and inclusion are some of the reasons individuals do not access these shelters. Though encampments are neither ideal nor a permanent solution, they do create a sense of community and a strong network of support among peers.

Nevertheless, an end to homelessness is the ultimate goal. Access to emergency shelters that are safe, accommodating, and inclusive has the potential to be a gateway for the unhoused to find stable housing and break free from the cycle of poverty.

With this in mind, Edmonton City Council saw the urgency to upgrade emergency shelter standards, a need which has only grown more pressing in light of COVID-19 (crowded shelters in a time of physical distancing is not conducive to slowing the spread of the virus). On August 25, 2021, the Community and Public Services Committee recommended that City Council approve a new report, City of Edmonton Minimum Emergency Shelter Standards.

The report outlines best practices for walk-up, overnight emergency shelter services for people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. It was designed to ensure that essential services are client-centred, trauma informed, and are delivered in a way that benefits both individuals who are unhoused and the surrounding community. The guiding principles of these standards promote inclusion, such as an individual’s gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and other considerations. Culturally appropriate services for Indigenous peoples and an anti-racist approach is also crucial.

Other standards include providing 24/7 availability, dignified sleeping quarters, storage options for personal belongings, accommodations for pets, improved food and nutritional services. Additional supports for mental health, as well as LGBTQ2S+ and youth are also discussed.

It is also worth noting that the proposed emergency shelter standards from the City of Edmonton represent a significant upgrade from the current shelter standards as laid out by the Government of Alberta. While requirements for areas like food service, sleeping accommodations, and programs are at the discretion of the shelter operator, the proposed standards are a lot more concrete and specific, taking into account the unique and complex needs of those who access shelters, proactively making shelters more welcoming and accommodating. If implemented in its entirety, there is a lot of potential for improve the well-being of a shelter’s clients.

Of course, emergency shelters should be treated as just that: emergencies. They must operate as part of the continuum of housing and housing supports for unhoused individuals. When addressing emergency needs, the report acknowledges that these shelters are a crucial gateway to housing and other support programs. The ultimate goal is to successfully assist the unhoused out of the system and into stable and appropriate housing solutions, which is paramount to reversing the alarming trend of increased homelessness numbers due to the pandemic.
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October 11, 2021
Blog: Social Determinants of Health

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Canada has long been considered one of the healthiest countries in the world. However, within Canada certain groups tend to be healthier than others. These health inequalities can be partially explained by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH). SDH are socio-economic factors that positively or negatively impact health. The Government of Canada lists 12 SDH, that include income, gender, race and racism, childhood experiences, and education. These factors are all interlinked and speak to a complex web of factors that impact our health and well-being as individuals and as a community.

The most important SDH is income as it acts as a proxy for many other SDH, and can take into account education, age, and experiences of discrimination or racism. Our health can be impacted directly the struggles associated with being in poverty. Those in low-income households are less likely to participate in physical activity, use green-spaces, or be able to afford healthy or adequate food. Because people in poverty often lack the means to participate in society, they are often socially isolated. The stress experienced from poverty can lead to impacts on our ability to make decisions, and even degrade family or neighborhood cohesion. It comes as no surprise then, that Canadians in the lowest income group are three to four times more likely than those in the highest income group to report poor mental health.

Knowing the dire impacts that poverty might have on health, it is important to examine who is more likely to be low-income. According to the latest data released from Statistics Canada, you are more likely to be low-income if you are younger, live in a lone-parent household, or are a single adult. Doing a deeper dive, women are on average at higher risk of being low-income compared to men.

Another key SDH is the role of race, racism, and culture. A 2013 Canadian study suggests that experiences of discrimination increase the risk of poor health and chronic disease, and that Black and Indigenous Canadians are far more likely to experience discrimination. According to the 2016 Census, those who identify as “Aboriginal” are 2.1 times more likely to be low-income compared to those who are not. In the past decade, Indigenous groups have experienced worse labour force participation outcomes than those who are not Indigenous. Similarly, visible minority groups are 1.8 times more likely to be low-income, although prevalence decreases as immigrants settle, have children, and find work. In Edmonton, unemployment rates for Black women and men are nearly two times higher than the rates for their (non-racialized?) counterparts in the rest of the population. The gap in median annual wages between Black women and women in the rest of the population is under $10,000, whereas the gap between Black men and men in the rest of the population is over $22,000.

Untangling the social determinants of health and addressing their root causes requires a drastic reordering of how we govern and treat one another. Steps to decolonize our health care system and increase awareness and training on how to be anti-racist are critical steps in moving towards eradicating health inequalities. Government transfer programs, such as a Universal Basic Income, may have potential in addressing poor health as it relates to income. A basic income would guarantee that everyone, regardless of their work status, could meet their basic needs and live in dignity. The Canadian federal government has recently identified basic income as one of its top policy priorities. Stay tuned for more details closer to home via the Basic Income Campaign for Alberta.
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October 19, 2020
Blog: The State of women’s housing needs and homelessness in Canada
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Women and girls in Canada are disproportionately affected by housing issues and homelessness, meaning that they experience these problems in unique and harsh ways. On June 25, 2020, The Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network (WNHHN) released a report on the state of women’s housing needs and homlessness in Canada. This report was produced by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, guided by experts from WNHHN and women with lived experiences. It involved a comprehensive review of available literature on women’s homelessness, detailing the major findings, and describing the unique challenges that women experiencing homelessness face.

Marginalized women deal with high rates of poverty and a lack of social and affordable housing. For example, 21% of racialized women and 32% of Indigenous women with treaty status are low income. In addition, a quarter of a million Canadian households are on a waiting list for subsidized housing. As a result, they may struggle to find adequate housing for their families. They are forced to live in inadequate types of housing such as overcrowded apartments or motels, or to couch surf with friends and family, trade sex for shelter, or live with abusive partners. This is called hidden homelessness: women are less likely to use mainstream shelters, drop-in services, or other services for those experiencing homelessness, and tend to stay out of the public eye. As a result, they are often under-reported in homelessness counts, and their experiences of homelessness are under-researched.

This lack of data on women’s homelessness makes it difficult for programs to address their unique needs. Programs and services designed for women experiencing homelessness have policies and gaps that may unintentionally create hardships for their clients. Examples include strict eligibility criteria that make accessing services difficult, discrimination or lack of services for LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC women, connections with the child welfare system that make women fear their children will be taken away, and an overall lack of funding. These issues may drive women into emergency services that do not recognize or know how to respond to their unique experiences. When women do not receive proper housing support, they may be forced to live in dangerous conditions, putting them at higher risk for assault and sexual violence—issues that make homelessness a uniquely dangerous situation for women.

The report notes that these issues are not experienced equally. Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people are more likely to be low-income, live in inadequate housing, and experience homelessness and violence. Yet they are also the most underserved in the sector—there are few services that specifically target these groups, and mainstream shelters may not have the knowledge or resources needed to help them.

The authors argue that addressing women’s homelessness is essential to ending homelessness more broadly. Mothers are often the primary caregivers within families experiencing housing instability; 28% of single mothers face this reality. When women and their families lack access to adequate housing, experience violence, and interact with child welfare services, the likelihood that their children will repeat cycles of homelessness increases. Addressing women’s homelessness now will prevent homelessness in the future.

The report indicates a need for more research to get a better understanding of women’s homelessness in Canada, and to address these complex issues in housing, homelessness, and other public sector policies. The authors also call for housing to be considered a right in order to address the specific barriers women face, and ultimately end poverty and homelessness for women.
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July 20, 2020
Blog: Civil society in the age of the UCP government

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The University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy recently published a report on the impacts of COVID-19 and the financial relationship between civil society and the provincial government (Alberta’s Civil Society Pre- and Post-COVID-19: What’s Government Got to Do With It?). As a member of Alberta’s civil society, the Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) is dedicated to ensuring that supportive funding for the most vulnerable in our province is sustainable and equitable.

Civil society, generally defined as “individuals, community groups, labour unions, social movements, organizations (registered or unregistered) that, outside of the state or market, pursue a common good” (p.4), has a complex and interconnected relationship with the government. This is becoming more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the provincial government reaches out to this ‘third sector’ as a means of meeting community needs during unprecedented times.

The majority of civil society organizations in Alberta are partially funded by government support, and generate 11% of the total provincial GDP ($35 billion as of 2017) through their activities (p.6). Now may be the time to make meaningful change in the way that civil society is utilized to effectively increase value and impact for all Albertans, starting with establishing sustainable revenue sources beyond government funding—especially in the wake of COVID-19’s economic impact to our province.

Civil society can either function as a counter-voice to government action, keeping it accountable and advocating for change, or work in tandem with government initiatives, implementing programs and services on the ground (e.g. public charities focused on education or health). There is, however, a substantial lack of data available, making it difficult to understand the complexities of civil society or to measure its impact. Considering the various organizations and sectors that are included under this umbrella term, it is a challenge to compile comprehensive data to determine evidence of its impact and value. There is also little clarity around the distinction between ‘charity’ and ‘non-profit’ (which have different CRA requirements)—Alberta claims there are over 25,000 charities and non-profits across the province, but does not distinguish in the same way as the CRA, which again limits access to reliable data. But even so, information on civil society actors that fall outside of these two categories (such as local volunteers or unregistered grassroots associations) would nonetheless remain unaccounted for.

As of 2017, 11% of all Canadian charities call Alberta home. Of these, 10% are public (schools, hospitals, etc) and 90% are non-public. Public charities received 85% of their funding from the government, whereas non-public charities only receive only 34% of funding from the government (p.6).

Whether civil society can pick up the slack from budgetary changes in the past year, compounded by increased economic hardships due to the current pandemic, depends on what key areas the government continues to invest in. As a member of Keep Alberta Strong, ESPC has taken action to call on the current government to maintain support in six priority areas, such as child care and affordable housing. During this period of economic and social uncertainty, it might benefit civil society actors (and government players) to take a look at the interdependent financial relationships between public and non-public charities and the government, and strategize for future sustainability.

The report makes little mention of austerity measures made by the UCP government in its most recent provincial budgets, where a large portion of cuts were issued within the public and charitable sectors. Rather, the report focuses on economic circumstances in light of COVID-19. It is difficult to consider the current financial stress that many civil society organizations are facing as having two separate and unrelated causes (budget cuts vs. the pandemic), as they have been truly compounded in recent months. ESPC will continue to share details and reports on these issues as they become available.

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May 25, 2020
Blog: Much-needed data on rural homelessness broadens our understanding of housing instability

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When it comes to homelessness and understanding its causes, the urban experience tends to be at the forefront of the conversation due to the issue being “visible” in the urban experience. The issue of homelessness within rural and remote areas is far less understood or even acknowledged by the wider public since it is perceived as “hidden.”

The Alberta Rural Development Network’s (ARDN) recent report, Rural Homelessness Estimation Project Provincial Report, seeks to bridge this information gap with what is believed to be the first co-ordinated effort to enumerate the number of people experiencing homelessness or housing instability in rural communities across Alberta. Data on the rates of rural homelessness is scarce so the project serves as an underserved aspect of homelessness research.

The Rural Homelessness Estimation Project (RHEP) involved a partnership with the ARDN and the Family and Community Support Services Association of Alberta. The initiative collected data on homelessness in 20 communities across rural Alberta between September and December 2018. It was a Point in Time (PiT) count to provide a snapshot of how many people are experiencing some form of homelessness in a given period of time. [Note: Edmonton Social Planning Council does participate in a PiT count for the urban Edmonton Homeless Count that is undertaken by Homeward Trust Edmonton.]

The PiT count found that 1,098 people reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability, representing 0.37% of the population. Of those who participated in the count, they identified 905 children and 994 adults living with them as also experiencing homelessness, bringing the total to 2,997 people, representing 1.0% of the population.

As the surveys are based on people self-reporting their status, the potential for underreporting is strong, and the PiT count may miss those who engage in less visible forms of homelessness such as couch surfing. In addition, since people self-identify their housing status, there is the possibility that those who technically do not meet the official definition of homelessness may identify that way as well as those who may not be experiencing housing instability identify their situation as experiencing housing instability.

The report paints a vivid portrait of rural homelessness, giving a comprehensive breakdown of demographics (age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, employment status, and others). More than half (55.7%) of respondents were women, 90.3% were Canadian-born, nearly half (40%) were Indigenous, more than two-thirds (67%) were unemployed, and nearly three quarters (71%) had moved at least once within the previous year.

The reasons for homelessness in rural communities also differ from urban areas. While struggles with mental health or addictions are the primary reason for urban homelessness, low income, domestic violence, and job loss were the primary reason for homelessness in rural areas.

Data from this project does not purport to be complete, but the RHEP report does an invaluable service providing researchers and policy makers with a starting point for better understanding the social problems rural communities face, which will only be enriched by follow-up studies and data collection.

The report does not make any specific policy recommendations for addressing the homelessness issue, but it does provide hard data to help communities make decisions on what services are necessary to support their residents.

You can read the full report (along with the accompanying summaries of the 20 participating communities) on the ARDN website.

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May 19, 2020