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7 th National Homelessness Conference September 7, 2012

7 th National Homelessness Conference September 7, 2012. Alison Cunningham Centre for Children & Families in the Justice System Women’s Rural Resource Ontario, Canada. Hello from Canada. Centre for Children & Families in the Justice System (formerly the London Family Court Clinic).

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7 th National Homelessness Conference September 7, 2012

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  1. 7th National Homelessness ConferenceSeptember 7, 2012 Alison Cunningham Centre for Children & Families in the Justice System Women’s Rural Resource Ontario, Canada

  2. Hello from Canada

  3. Centre for Children & Families in the Justice System (formerly the London Family Court Clinic)

  4. Women’s Rural Resource Centre

  5. Well done Australia! • Putting the issue of homelessness on the radar • Culture of using research to drive innovation • Governments have made a significant commitment of resources • Collaboration is vibrant

  6. Quick facts about Canada • Population is 33.5 million • Second largest country (after Russia) • 4/5 of us live within 150 km. of U.S. border • About 20% born outside Canada • Largest city is Toronto (5.6 million) • 3 levels of government • Officially bilingual • Seven professional hockey teams (NHL)

  7. Aboriginal Peoples • Three groups • First nations • Inuit • Métis • 4% of the population (1.2 million) • 600 recognized First Nations

  8. Homelessness in Canada • The homeless are not enumerated during the Census by Statistics Canada • However, in the last Census, 19,630 people were in shelters (of all types) – roughly the same number as in prisons • Estimates are 150,000 to 300,000 people • Estimated $4.5 to $6 billion in costs

  9. Homelessness In Canada • No shared definition so tend to focus on “absolute homelessness” • Not an issue that ranks very high among government priorities – no national housing strategy • Split jurisdiction • Severe weather

  10. Type of shelters • Crash beds (over night) • Withdrawal management (one week) • Emergency beds (up to 6 weeks) • Transitional beds (up to one year) • Some Aboriginal shelters (e.g., NaMeRes in Toronto) • Mostly co-ed

  11. Homelessness and VAW • Two separate sectors • Dramatically different funding levels • Dramatically different sizes of facilities • However, a high degree of overlap of clients

  12. Women’s shelters • 593 shelters in Canada (157 in Ontario) • 11,461 beds (average is 15) • 64,500 admission a year • 31% had stayed at that shelter at least once before • 74% occupancy rate (a lot of variability) • About 10% of women who report abuse in previous year accessed a shelter

  13. Trends in shelter usage • Number of shelters is increasing • Number of beds is increasing • Number of return admissions is growing (but not able to track shelter use across shelters) • Number of child admissions is declining • Abuse as primary reason for admission is declining

  14. Funding • Mostly provincial government • Some municipal funding in some areas • High fundraising burden

  15. On-reserve shelters funded by INAC

  16. “Best” practice? • It’s not just WHAT we do, it’s HOW we do it, with WHOM and WHEN

  17. 5 reasons women access shelter • Take a break / respite • Leverage power • Decision making • Transition • Other

  18. Does the sign outside the agency match what we do in the building?

  19. 10 Conversations • No easy answers: many are true dilemmas • May not apply in Australia • My goal is to be provocative • I assume deep in my heart that we all do the best work we can, but the “system” we work in creates inertia • No particular order

  20. Conversation 1 • Feminist / Clinical

  21. Conversation 2 • Fragmentation / holistic

  22. Conversation 3 • Dependence / empowerment • WTPT client: “when I was in shelters before, they just said ‘go look for a place’.”

  23. Conversation 4 • Meeting the need / spreading ourselves too thin • Mark McGreevy: “we shouldn’t be afraid of admitting that we can’t be good at everything.”

  24. Conversation 5 • Grant funding / core funding • Auntie Margaret: “where something is so obviously working, why don’t you continue?” • Proposal fatigue

  25. Conversation 6 • Staff safety / funding constraints

  26. Conversation 7 • Woman centred / women centred

  27. Conversation 8 • Our needs / client needs

  28. Conversation 9 • Ending DV / meeting the payroll

  29. Conversation 10 • End homelessness / create homelessness? • “If I knew I couldn’t stay here until I found a place, I never would have left.”

  30. Reprise of best practice • Picture a Medicine Wheel (circle with four quadrants) • All four sections are equally important • All four sections are interdependent

  31. A balance • 1: WHO the person is and what they need/want • 2: WHO you are and what skills you have to offer • 3: WHAT specifically you do to intervene • 4: WHEN you do that in a person’s life journey

  32. good intentions are not enough • We can’t be all things to all people • WTPT: “Be the right person, at the right place, at the right time to help.”

  33. Alison’s Imperatives • We are no different than our clients: we all want to be happy and we all want to be loved • Help people be happy, help people accept love • Be kind to yourself and be kind to others • Smile: fake it till you make it • Deliver a service that you would be happy to be a client of

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