Sharing the Findings Women over 50 on the Sunshine Coast Hidden Homelessness

1. Sharing the Findings Women over 50 on the Sunshine Coast Hidden Homelessness

2. The Issue The Project Findings Recommendations

3. Sunshine Coast Population % population 65 years+ British Columbia - total 18.3% Sunshine Coast – total 29.6% Gibsons 31.3% Sechelt 34.3% Pender Harbour 37.0%

4. Sunshine Coast Women’s Population

5. Key Considerations with Women who are over 50 years of age • Different needs than younger women • Ageism is a social issue • Identified barriers • Inter – sectionality

6. Key Considerations with Women who are over 50 years of age • Invisibility-lack of research/reports • Lack of information on ageing • Variety of violences • Economic vulnerability

7. WHAT THE DATA IS TELLING US • SURVEYS • WOMEN OVER 50 236 surveys • SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS (ongoing) 4 • SERVICE PROVIDERS 16 • FOCUS GROUPS • Pender, Gibsons , Sechelt • 6 • 10 women • INTERVIEWS • Service Providers 9 • Test 3 • Data Collection 4

8. Focus groups • Services generally good but could be more coordinated • Confidentiality good • Where to get info on services? • Support generally needed • Outreach needed

9. Focus groups • Ongoing support needed • Descriptions of multiple impacts of issues leading to crises • General: fear/insecurity as women realize how vulnerable they are • Greater numbers of issues /barriers = greater dislocation and ability to rebuild

10. Service Provider Interviews • Anecdotal evidence for the need being seen to grow over last few years • There is a crises in housing especially for the vulnerable • Do we need more or different services? • Less awareness of Elder Abuse except among specialists

11. Service Provider Interviews • Domestic violence impacted women do not charge or sustain charges because they have no place to go outside of family home • See patterns over time. • Cannot use remedies we have • No Elder Abuse cases for Crown Prosecutor

12. Women Over 50 Surveys • Housing • 80% single family homes • 73% own and 27% rent • 6% Friend / family (couch), tent/ trailer

13. Women Over 50 Surveys • Housing • 90% safely housed, 10% no • Live w partner 49%, all else 51% • Stable (1 yr) housing 85%, unstable 15%

14. Women Over 50 Surveys • Annual income – • over 50,000 30% • 25-50,000 35% • under 25,000 36% • What Need to Leave Unsafe Home • DON”T KNOW…comments • What info to leave? • 45% housing, 20% Legal, 20% financial

15. Women Over 50 Surveys • Housing • Spend 30%+ on housing 35% • Health • Chronic conditions 41% • Isolation • Feel isolated 39% • Mobility • Mobility challenged 40% • Legal • Afford lawyer? 50% NO

16. Barriers to Women Over 50 Seeking Service • Socialized differently • Greater financial barriers • Health / functional challenges • Longer standing abuse

17. Barriers to Women Over 50 Seeking Service • Reduced social networks • May not recognize shelters are open to them too • Lack of knowledge about resources • Fear of affect of intervention on family • members

18. Barriers to Women Over 50 Seeking Service • Support groups are largely for younger adults • Greater accessibility and mobility needs • A wish to maintain family networks • A wish to maintain adult care responsibilities

19. Unique Vulnerability of Women over 50 Less wealth chance High risk of becoming homeless Ageism/sexism Less economic stability More poverty OWP

20. Factors Contributing to high risk of Being Homeless Women who are 50 years + High risk of becoming homeless Interpersonal violence / Elder abuse

21. Homeless Women who are 50 years + High risk of becoming homeless IPV / EA

22. Homeless Women who are 50 years + HIDDEN HOMELESSNESS High risk of becoming homeless IPV / EA

23. Higher risk of being homeless • Precipitating Factors • Dom Viol (IPV) • EA • De-coupling • Tenancy conflict • Health • Lack of employment • Poverty • Multi-oppressions / inter-sectionality • Individual factors High risk of becoming homeless

24. Ageism is a Social Norm • “To the extent to which older people do not fit the perceived social norm, they are treated as “less”, which may include being less valued and less visible. They become relegated to a second class status; their needs and their lives are treated as if they do not matter as much.”

25. What do we know? • Ageism the most tolerated form of social prejudice • 6 in 10 (63%) of seniors say they have been treated unfairly / differently because of age • 1 in 3 (35%) Canadians admit they treat people differently • 8 in 10 (79%) agree seniors are seen as less important • 1 in 5 (21%) see older Canadians as a burden • Revera Report – International Federation on Aging

26. In order to effectively support women over 50, research shows that the following is needed:

27. Promising Practices • Nurture an environment that values women who are older • Use an approach valuing aging • Hiring , presence of older women • Develop outreach strategies tailored to women who are older • Provide individualized, woman-centred support for women who are older • Focus on relationships and relationship-building for women who are older

28. Promising Practices • Focus on safety for women who are older • Facilitate access to health care for women who are older • Provide women who are older with more time to transition

29. Promising Practices • Support women who are older after they leave transitional or supported housing • Integrate evaluation into practice, including documentation of use of services by women who are older • Work towards system change for women who are older Atira Report 2015

30. Services Need to Work in New Ways • Using: • An appropriate ‘lens’-aging / lifecourse / gender balanced (equality and safety) • supports and interventions which last longer • Person centered / women centered, trauma informed

31. Services Need to Work in New Ways • Link to a range of housing options • Evaluation of how well referrals and resources are working for women over 50 • Pathways to service which differ depending on • individual need, • careful risk analysis, • safety planning, and • availability.

32. Recommendations Context and Service • Develop strategy to assist women to know where and what the resources are • Awareness campaign to illuminate issues and numbers on the Sunshine Coast

33. Recommendations • Examine current coordination of services and seek improvement (Examine how women are ‘funneled’ into services) • Continue to foster collaboration across resources that exist internally and externally which this project has begun

34. Recommendations • There is value in tracking information about trends. Services should discuss how to do that to get a picture over 3 years,( and do it) • Support services to provide tools and training to embrace promising practices / evidence based work

35. Recommendations Housing Model • There is a need for housing developments / rentals on the Sunshine Coast that deal with needs of women over 50 • For women over 50 who are especially vulnerable, there needs to be specific supported housing with services offering best practices

36. Recommendations Housing Model • Coordinate key stakeholders to have more discussion grounded in best practices for women facing risk; based on filling the needs shown in this inquiry • Have further conversations about short, medium and long term solutions / models

37. Thank you for your attention • Questions?? • Contact: April Struthers Wit Works Ltd. 604 885 0651 witworks@dccnet.com