Urban Homelessness in Canada Essay -- Urban Homeless

Definition of Homelessness Homelessness can simply be defined as the lack of house or shelter. Hulchanski (n.d.) believes that homelessness is â€Å"a great unresolved political and social problem of our time.† He defines homelessness as: The absence of a place to live (a house or apartment or room - the physical structure) - which includes the absence of belonging to a place and the people living there (a home, in the social/psychological sense). [It refers to] situations in which people lack regular and customary access to adequate and appropriate conventional housing (the physical structures that are designed and intended to be permanent residential accommodation). A person who has no regular place to live stays in an overnight emergency shelter, an abandoned building, an all-night coffee shop or theatre, a car, outdoors, or other such places not meant to be living spaces† (Hulchanski, n.d.). On the other hand, Springer (2000) views homelessness as term encompassing many possible meanings. Springer suggests using the "houselessness" instead of homelessness. She also identifies Categories of Houselessness/Homelessness. According to Springer (2000), there are three categories of houselessness: Absolute houselessness refers to people who use public or private housing. â€Å"People sleeping rough, which means in the street, in public places or in any other place not meant for human habitation are those forming the core population of the "homeless"[as well as] those sleeping in shelters provided by welfare or other institutions† (Springer, 2000). Concealed houselessness refers to people who are houseless but temporarily housed with friends or family. â€Å"†¦all people living wit... ...trieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.parkdalelegal.org/Homeless.htm Pollack, G. (2001). "Who are Canada’s homeless?'. Reader's Digest (2001). Available at http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/44/244.html Raising the Roof. â€Å"Case Study: Homeless Initiatives Fund.† Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.raisingtheroof.org/ss-case-dsp.cfm?casefile=Homeless_Initiatives_Fund Raising the Roof. â€Å"Case Study: Literacy and Homelessness Project.† Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.raisingtheroof.org/ss-case dsp.cfm?casefile=Literacy_and_Homelessness_Project Springer, S. (2000). "Homelessness: A proposal for a Global Definition and Classification." Habitat International, Vol. 24,Urban Homelessness in 11 Toronto Report Card on Housing and Homelessness. (2003). Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.toronto.ca/homelessness/pdf/reportcard2003.pdf