Homelessness A Very Real Problem For Canadian Society

Introduction Ever since the Canadian federal government withdrew affordable housing investments in the 1990s, homelessness has emerged as a very real problem for Canadian society. In 2014, it is estimated that over 235,000 different Canadians will experience homelessness in a year, with over 35,000 Canadians homeless on any given night (The State of Homelessness in Canada 2). However, the real problem is hidden in the numbers, where despite only making up 4.3% of the total Canadian population, Aboriginal Peoples represent a disproportionate percentage of the homeless populations across Canada (SOHC 60). Through a deep and complex web of embedded colonial structures, intergenerational trauma, poverty, violence, and racism, Aboriginal†¦show more content†¦There is also an important recognition to be made between living conditions of those 26.6% of Aboriginal People’s living on reserves, and those 73.4% that are living off reserves (SOHC 34). The appalling inadequacies of the alread y limited on-reserve housing, such as lack of electricity, clean water, sanitation, safety, and extreme overcrowding force many to seek better lives in urban areas. Many, upon arrival, then have to face extreme discrimination via cultural oppression stemming from historical processes, economic causes and political neglect (Patrick 19). Through this naturalized racism stemming way into the colonial era, Aboriginal Peoples in these urban areas face obscene housing and economic discrimination (Patrick 22). This all results in Aboriginal Peoples in urban centers being 8 times more likely to experience homelessness than non-Aboriginals. Programs Since the elimination of the affordable housing investments by the Canadian Federal government in 1990, there have been various attempts at relieving the epidemic of homelessness for Aboriginals that coincided with the program withdrawal. These have included federal initiatives, typically crafted as a solution to homelessness as a whole, but with funds targeted to Aboriginal groups, as well as provincial, municipal and even band programs working to relieve