Hidden Homelessness in Ontario’s

Newcomer Communities- Signs, Symptoms & Solutions

S.GopikrishnaExecutive Director

Scarborough Housing Help Centre23 April 2009

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Expectations of this workshop

After this workshop, counselors should be able to:• Discuss hidden homelessness with clients, other counselors and funders • Propose solutions within existing resources and strengthen their capacity

for assisting clients with housing issues• Contribute towards solutions at the systemic level ( long term solution) MODULES IN THIS WORKSHOP

1) What is hidden homelessness2) Developing a feel for hidden homelessness- symptoms in different communities3) Causative factors and perspectives on hidden homelessness4) Impact of hidden homelessness GROUP EXERCISE 15) Glimpses of hidden homelessness from various cities in the province 6) Solutions inside the existing system to address “hidden homelessness”7) Systemic solutions GROUP EXERCISE 2

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1. What is hidden homelessness?

HIDDEN HOMELESSNESS • Hidden Homelessness has no concrete definition since it encompasses

different kinds of homelessness and has come to notice only recently• The causes of hidden homelessness are well understood well but the

manifestations in different communities are diverse• In Ontario, hidden homelessness has two popular interpretations- “couch

surfing” kind and “overcrowding ”. Couch surfing assumes continuous movement, overcrowding assumes lack of movement

• “Couch surfing” is usually seen among youth and the rural areas. • “Overcrowding” is more of an urban phenomenon. This is common among

newcomers. • This workshop will focus on the latter issue- namely “hidden homelessness”

among the newcomer population.

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2. Hidden Homelessness

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2. Hidden Homelessness

“Hidden homelessness” can be found in apartment complexes, houses and basements.:

SYMPTOMS IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES• House has a permanent overcrowded look• Apartment complex looks old due to constant wear and tear• All the residents are newcomers- some of them become ethnic ghettoes

SYMPTOMS IN HOUSES/BASEMENTS• The houses and basements are not legally configured as “second suites”. • Houses look like high quality housings from outside but may not have anything but

dry wall inside

QUANTITATIVE SYMPTOMS:• Family spending more than 1/3 of net income on rent • Limited income-Ontario Works, ODSP and people under poverty line• More than 2 people/room- Citizenship and Immigration Canada report

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3. Causative factors

Hidden Homelessness is caused by:

• References and credit checks- newcomers have neither

• Need to pay six months of rent or more as an initial deposit

• Unemployment and underemployment

• Lack of affordable housing

• No rent supplements to assist newcomers

• Lack of awareness about legal rights as tenants- reluctance to complain after being informed about legal rights

• Racism forces newcomers to stick together for economic and cultural

reasons

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3.Why is hidden homelessness hidden?- reasons and perspectives

• No awareness of the phenomenon among newcomers- it has to explained in a culturally sensitive manner to newcomer audiences

• Many newcomers see this as a “temporary adjustment” issue and not as a permanent issue

• Defensiveness- “We lived together in my native country” -however, in Canada, this is forced on the client and not a matter of choice

• At the community level, community elders don’t like talking about hidden homelessness since “gives the community a bad name”.

• Newcomers need to live up to the “model minority” construct- why do we need to live up to a divisive and racist construct?

• Clients and community members see Hidden Homelessness is seen as the outcome of the lack of employment and not a separate issue in itself. They argue that if the issue of hidden homelessness is best solved through finding newcomers employment

• However, if the employment issue is not resolved, the “hidden homelessness” issue is not resolved either

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4. Impact of hidden homelessness

• Children don’t have enough space to study- studies have proved that children living in temporary accommodation tend to fall behind

• Health problems- depression is common among newcomers- many complain about their feeling unvalued

• Rental increases prevent clients from buying medication which is necessary- many newcomers don’t have medical benefits coverage

• Financial stress forces everybody to eat cheap, low quality food which can create long term health issues

• Social tensions between families living in the same space• Parents working multiple jobs to pay rent means that the children don’t have

adequate supervision- this creates secondary issues• The quality of life deteriorates continuously with increasing hidden

homelessness and poverty. There is a correlation between growing poverty and the lack of new community resources. Thus poverty and hidden homelessness become endemic.

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GROUP EXERCISE 1

Please discuss the following with your group and report back after half an hour:

• Provide an improved/ comprehensive definition for hidden homelessness among newcomers

• What are the symptoms of hidden homelessness?

• How will you introduce hidden homelessness to a newcomer group in a culturally sensitive fashion?

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5. Where is hidden homelessness found?

• Where is it found- it is found in the newcomer community in most urban communities in OntarioDefinitive information of hidden homelessness exists in:• “Plug Them In And Turn Them On- Homelessness ,Immigrants and Social Capital ”

– written by Kenise Kilbride and Steven Webber• Ethno-Racial Equalities in Toronto- 2000 and 2006- Professor Norman Ornstein

report • Housing For Immigrants in Ontario’s Medium Sized Cities- David Wachsmuth• Other reports

Glimpses of hidden homelessness in various parts of the province: • Evidence in Windsor• Evidence in Peel• Evidence in Hamilton• Evidence in Toronto • Some evidence in Kitchener-Waterloo and London• Evidence in Ottawa

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5. Homelessness in Windsor & Kitchener

WINDSOR • Windsor has 4th largest concentration of foreign born residents after GTA,

Vancouver and Montreal• There is a large immigrant and refugee committee because of secondary

migration and the presence of the motor car industry- secondary migration refers to newcomers who moved to a given city from another city because of better job opportunities

• For some secondary migrants, living in Windsor was a deliberate strategy to avoid high costs- “if you can’t take the bus, you can walk”.

KITCHENER • Housing has been identified as an issue in the Afghan community in

Kitchener.• Kitchener received a large number of refugees from the former Yugoslavia in

the 90s. Since refugees have a hard time finding good housing generally, they probably live in situations of hidden homelessness.

• Students from foreign countries tend to live in crowded housing to save money. Kitchener-Waterloo is home to 2 universities and London is home to University of Western Ontario

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5. Homelessness in Peel & Hamilton

PEEL• A number of newcomers come to Peel because they already have family

and friends in Peel. Secondary migration is common• Despite increasing numbers, the breadth of newcomer services is not the

same as Toronto• Racism prevents many newcomers from having adequate choice in their

housing choices• Religious institutions and LINC classes were identified as having played a

prominent part in helping clients find housing

HAMILTON• Second biggest target city for newcomers in Ontario• Hamilton has received a number of sponsored refugees from various

countries, who have significant challenges adjusting due to their experiences- this increases risk of homelessness

• Religious institutions play a larger part in integrating newcomers into society• Immigrants with large families find it difficult to find housing and have

complained about the lack of support from settlement agencies

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5. Homelessness in Toronto &Ottawa

TORONTO • Ornstein report ( 2000) proved the existence of poverty in Toronto. It also

proved that poverty has “colour” i.e. visible minorities are disproportionately impacted

• Initial deposit is always an issue. Some reported that they had to give one year’s worth of rent as the initial deposit.

• There is clear evidence of “hidden homelessness” not being temporary. Many have lived in “hidden homelessness” situations for close to 10 years

OTTAWA• “6 out of 10 immigrants in Ottawa-Gatineau said that housing was the 2nd

biggest issue due to affordability”- Ottawa City Housing Strategy ( 2007-12)• As of 2001, 21% of recent immigrants lived in “crowded conditions” ( one

person or more per room) compared to 2% of Canadian Born Households• 1 out of 4 households spent more than 30% of income on rent

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6. Solutions inside the system

• Invite Housing Help reps and legal clinics for a presentation- there is tremendous scope for partnering between housing agencies and agencies serving newcomers

• ISAP funded agencies acquire the capacity to assist former clients ( presently citizens) with housing issues to obtain services

• Have discussions with local shelters- the lack of use of shelters among newcomers is alarming

• Explain hidden homelessness in a culturally sensitive fashion to newcomer clients. Volunteer to discuss your cultural needs and sensibilities with other agencies

• Create awareness among clients about legal rights as tenants and encourage them to empower themselves through exercising rights.

• Encourage home owning clients with basements to rent to officially convert them to “second suites”

• Join “RENT”, a good resource for addressing housing issues- analogous to settlement.org for settlement issues.

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6. Overview of Housing programs

Philosophy of Housing Programs• They are municipally funded and are therefore geared to local conditions. • They tend to serve people based on where they live ( catchment area)

irrespective of immigration status

Types of Housing Programs that the local housing help centre may offer:

• Working with homeless people- drop-ins, hot breakfast program• Rent Bank program- pertinent to immigrants with jobs• Provides listings and working with landlords to access housings• Eviction prevention• Accessing social housing• Possibility of Representation before the Landlord Tenant Board

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7.Solutions- outside the systemSystemic Solutions are best brought about through advocacy. Advocacy

has to be directed at various levels of government as well as the

newcomer community :

ADVOCACY DIRECTED AT NEWCOMER COMMUNITIES • Reshape newcomer community opinion and discuss the existence of

legitimate issues – avoiding discussion of existing issues does not solve the problem

• Make people realize that employment is not the only solution to housing. Make clients realize the importance of the settlement sector in addressing issues around housing.

ADVOCACY DIRECTED AT GOVERNMENTS • Advocate with community health centres and the LHINs (Local Health

Integration Networks)- these are useful resources to address immigrant settlement from a health point of view.

• Advocate with city officials and municipal councillors about newcomer needs. Among politicians, they are relatively easy to access and advocate with. Municipal programs also have very little focus on newcomer needs.

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GROUP EXERCISE 2

• Team A will work on a presentation to CIC about innovative programs to get rent supplements for landed immigrants

• Team B will work on a presentation to the local LHIN about the impact of hidden homelessness on the health of newcomers and ask for innovative programming from the LHIN. What kinds of programs would you ask for?