Open Collections

Presley, Bethany

University of British Columbia

Cities across Canada are experiencing an increase in homelessness and are struggling to keep up with the needs of the growing homeless population. Smaller cities are no exception to this trend. Canada is experiencing a homelessness crisis across the nation as a combined result of the federal government’s divestment of affordable and social housing, increased housing and rental prices, cutbacks in full-time and well-paying employment, and reduced investments in mental health supports throughout the country (Gaetz et al., 2016). Government policy changes and shifts in the economy have shortened the affordable housing supply and reduced rental subsidies and other supports for low-income populations (Dalton, 2009; Gaetz, 2010). In response to the growing issue of homelessness, the Federal Government initiated a homelessness strategy called Reaching Home that provides selected communities across Canada with funding to address homelessness (Government of Canada, 2020a). However, communities that are excluded from this program are finding it increasingly challenging to address and reduce homelessness. Vernon, British Columbia (Vernon) is one of the many cities struggling to deal with homelessness without supports from the Federal Government. Concomitant to the exclusion of smaller cities, funding research has also prioritized homelessness in larger Canadian cities such as Toronto and Vancouver (Doberstein, 2012; Piat et al., 2015; To et al., 2016). As a result, little is known at the academic level around how smaller Canadian cities address homelessness with limited funding and capacity. Using a community-engaged methodology, I have partnered with Vernon to examine the ways in which the city addresses homelessness with minimal supports from the Federal Government. I hope that this research will put Vernon and other smaller Canadian cities on the academic radar, drawing attention to the challenges faced by smaller communities throughout the homelessness crisis. The goal of this research is to fill the gap in knowledge within academia around how smaller Canadian cities alleviate homelessness with limited funding and resources.

Text

2022-04-27

Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/81417

Interdisciplinary Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/