Canadian Centre for Housing Rights

Across Canada, many people without secure homes resort to hidden homelessness – a form of precarious housing where people seek informal and temporary solutions like staying with family and friends, or couch surfing with strangers. These experiences represent a critical point of intervention to connect supports to individuals who are at risk of falling into more severe states of homelessness. Yet, a lack of data means these experiences are often overlooked in the design of services and solutions. To address this knowledge gap, we carried out a research project, in partnership with CT Labs, that used Saskatoon as a case study to design solutions to better understand and estimate hidden homelessness in a municipality. Six key insights emerged from our research in Saskatoon with people with lived experience, community organizations, advocacy networks, service providers, academics, and government officials: • Hidden homelessness has a unique place in the housing continuum.  • Evictions and low levels of income seem to be two of the most important factors causing people to lose their housing and then experience hidden homelessness.  • Despite having shelter, the experience of hidden homelessness comes with a great level of uncertainty and risks for those who experience it.  • Culturally competent and gender-sensitive care for people experiencing hidden homelessness is a key intervention point.  • People who offer temporary accommodation usually provide assistance and support without the proper resources or tools to do so.  • City-wide data collection is a key area of opportunity to better understand all forms of homelessness, including hidden homelessness. The findings from our research can help to deepen our collective understanding of hidden homelessness by shedding light on the scale, needs, barriers, patterns and solutions to address the issue. They also provide insights that can help policymakers, community leaders, and service providers develop solutions that better respond to the concrete needs of people experiencing hidden homelessness. Explore our three new reports that present our key findings, tested solutions and policy recommendations: https://lnkd.in/e4J5R_c3

Making public lands available for affordable housing is a critical opportunity to build more equitable, inclusive and sustainable communities across Canada. We're calling on the federal government to prioritize those in greatest need, by dedicating public lands to the development of deeply affordable housing. Read our full recommendations ➜ https://lnkd.in/e-CCDjqX

Evictions have devastating, lifelong impacts on youth, including increased risks of poverty & homelessness. Today, we delivered a joint submission with the National Right to Housing Network calling on the Federal Housing Advocate to lead a review into youth eviction. We're presenting a range of rights-based recommendations to transform eviction systems across Canada, based on solutions developed by youth themselves. Read our recommendations: https://lnkd.in/eGwPwGJy

ONN is hosting a webinar on November 6 from 1:00-2:00pm highlighting the different ways in which nonprofits can use the new 2024 sector data in their advocacy efforts. Register! https://lnkd.in/e5EqA4HH

ONN has launched results their annual state of the sector survey. Over 1,000 nonprofits, charities and grassroots organizations across Ontario responded. This year’s data reveals that the nonprofit sector is experiencing stagnant and declining financial resources amidst climbing demand. All survey data and related resources are available here: https://lnkd.in/gefDZiwx.

Our September housing policy news round-up is out! Highlights include: • The federal government released a Blueprint for a Renters’ Bill of Rights • The National Housing Council announced a review panel on homelessness among women and gender-diverse people; • A new report shows short-term rental regulations in Ontario generate savings • Saskatchewan has the fastest rising rents across the country • A Yukon judge strikes down legislation that allowed evictions with only five days' notice. Read our full news round-up to stay up to date with the most important developments from last month. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ejQNjnJt

Culturally competent and gender-sensitive care for people experiencing hidden homelessness is a key intervention point. First Nations peoples, women and gender-diverse people experiencing gender-based violence are overrepresented in situations of hidden homelessness, creating a strong need for tailored services that can meet their needs and address their systemic and context-specific realities. Read more from our latest research on understanding and estimating hidden homelessness, using Saskatoon as a case study: https://lnkd.in/e4J5R_c3

Winnipeg’s new housing projects are encouraging but more rent-geared-to-income units are needed, as only 231 of such units are currently planned. Our Sr. Policy Advisor and chair of the Right to Housing Winnipeg, Yutaka Dirks, stressed that the 1,135 new units represent just a fraction of the housing needed. Dirks estimates the city must build 10 times that amount over the next three years to meet demand. https://lnkd.in/egWxY5VC

Several resources from our collection of printable guides for Ontario renters are now available in Hindi, Persian, and Chinese! The resources cover the basics of rental housing laws, human rights in rental housing and renters’ rights when facing eviction. Take a look & download the PDF's: https://lnkd.in/g5TbTmBt

New research reports! We carried out a research project, in partnership with CT Labs, that used Saskatoon as a case study to design solutions to better understand and estimate hidden homelessness at the municipal level. The findings from the research can help to deepen our collective understanding on the scale, needs, barriers, patterns and solutions to address the issue. They also provide insights that can help policymakers, community leaders, and service providers develop solutions that better respond to the concrete needs of people experiencing hidden homelessness. Key insights: • Hidden homelessness has a unique place in the housing continuum. It is often the last stop before street-level homelessness, where needs and trauma become even more complex, making it a critical point for intervention and prevention. • Evictions and low levels of income seem to be two of the most important factors causing people to lose their housing and then experience hidden homelessness. • Despite having shelter, the experience of hidden homelessness comes with a great level of uncertainty and risks for those who experience it. • Culturally competent and gender-sensitive care for people experiencing hidden homelessness is a key intervention point. • People who offer temporary accommodation usually provide assistance and support without the proper resources or tools to do so. • City-wide data collection is a key area of opportunity to better understand all forms of homelessness, including hidden homelessness. Explore our three reports that present our key findings, proposed solutions and policy recommendations: https://lnkd.in/e4J5R_c3