Combating Homelessness in Canada Through Social Awareness Initiatives

This report delves into the pressing issue of homelessness in Canada, emphasizing the alarming statistics of individuals experiencing both visible and hidden homelessness. It highlights the significant lack of social awareness surrounding the issue, particularly concerning hidden homelessness, where a substantial portion of the homeless population remains invisible to the public. The report underscores the vulnerability of youth within this context, citing statistics on victimization and mental health challenges. It proposes social awareness campaigns, pamphlet distribution, and the strategic use of digital and social media as effective methods to educate the public and encourage action. The conclusion reinforces the urgency of addressing homelessness through increased awareness and compassionate interventions, advocating for community involvement and support for vulnerable populations. The report references various academic sources to support its findings and recommendations.

Ending homelessness with
social awareness and
compassion
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Homelessness in Canada
• Homelessness is a grave concern for the
Canadian government, with 235000 people
experiencing homelessness each year.
• Data suggests that 35000 Canadians face
homelessness in any given night (Cbc.ca, 2018).
• More than 50000 Canadians are suffering from
hidden homelessness, such as couch surfing,
sleeping in a car, or other precarious housing
• 20% of the homeless population of Canada
belongs to the young populations.
• Even with the alarming situation, there is very
little awareness in the society (Cbc.ca, 2018).

Homelessness in Canada
• Vancouver is the city with highest
homelessness.
• The homelessness count has enhanced
by 2% in the last year itself (Cbc.ca,
2018).
• Even with the new temporary modular
homes and permanent social housing,
the homelessness problem is only rising
(Raisingtheroof.org, 2018).
• There is need for humanitarian approach
to handle this issue facing the cities of
Canada along with suburban towns.

Hidden homelessness and lack of awareness
• Mounting evidence suggests the contributor
of rising homelessness in Canada being due to
homelessness being invisible in the
community.
• The lack of awareness in the society regarding
homelessness, especially for hidden
homelessness, is a major hindrance in
reducing the rate.
• Statistics suggest that out of five homeless
Canadians, don’t live on the streets.
• This hidden homelessness is also due to the
fact that more than 1 in 5 rental households in
Canada is spending more than 50% of their
income on rent.

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• The youth experiencing hidden homelessness
is the highest in the Canadian societies.
• There are other serious concerns associated
with youth hidden homelessness (Aykanian &
Lee, 2016).
• Recent statistics suggests that both physical
and sexual victimization is very common
among the youth that face hidden
homelessness is Canada.
• This also increases the risk of trauma and
associated mental illnesses in the youth
(Cbc.ca, 2018).

Need for social awareness
• Social awareness will have a direct impact on
improving the situations on the hidden
homelessness situation
• Not only the social awareness can bring
hundreds of people with hidden homelessness
to attention of the NGOs and helping homes
(Aykanian & Lee, 2016).
• The social awareness can help bring forth
donation to several not for profit organizations
for helping the homeless find a better living
situation.

How to implement social awareness
• Social awareness can be implemented
in the society by various methods.
• Campaigning is one very useful
method of spreading awareness
regarding the hidden homelessness
• This campaigning can be done in
collaboration by the social workers,
Ngo representatives and health care
workers targeting at risk communities
(Watson, Crawley & Kane, 2016).

How to combat hidden homelessness by social
awareness
• Another very important and impactful method of
spreading awareness regarding hidden
homelessness or homelessness in general are
pamphlets and flyers.
• The pamphlets need to be written ion simple and
easy to read English and must incorporate all key
recognizable signs of hidden homelessness and its
impact, especially on children and youth
(Aykanian & Lee, 2016).
• Along with that, the pamphlets must also
incorporate clear instructions regarding the steps
to be taken to inform authorities and report
hidden homelessness.
• The pamphlets and flyers need to be distributed
in schools, colleges and community centres
(Watson, Crawley & Kane, 2016).

Use of digital and social media to expand awareness
• The social and digital media are potent tools to
convey a message to the mass.
• The aid of digital media such as television and
radio broadcasting can be taken to aware the
communities regarding hidden homelessness and
how to report it to authorities (Watson, Crawley &
Kane, 2016).
• Another very important tool is the social media
including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to
spread the news of hidden homelessness,
associated mental and physical torture and how to
help the victims of the same (Aykanian & Lee,
2016).

Conclusion
On a concluding note, homelessness is a grave
concern for Canadian societies.
The hidden homelessness is adding a huge
burden to the ever rising rate of homeless people
in Canada.
The lack of overall awareness in the society is
contributing to the rising homelessness situation.
Campaigning, flyer distribution and digital or
social media can help build the awareness in the
society regarding hidden homelessness.

References
• Aykanian, A., & Lee, W. (2016). Social work’s role in ending the criminalization
of homelessness: Opportunities for action. Social work, 61(2), 183-185.
• Cbc.ca (2018). More than half of Vancouver's homeless population have been
homeless for less than a year, count finds | CBC News. [Online]. Retrieved from
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-homeless-
count-2018-1.4644233. [Accessed on 7th Dec]
• Raisingtheroof.org (2018). Facts & Figures - Raising the Roof. [Online].
Retrieved from https://www.raisingtheroof.org/for-media/facts-figures/.
[Accessed on 7th Dec]
• Watson, J., Crawley, J., & Kane, D. (2016). Social exclusion, health and hidden
homelessness. Public health, 139, 96-102.