Oudshoorn: Poverty, addiction, mental illness not causes of homelessness, success is

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Visible homelessness persists at crisis levels within London.

This is a tragic outcome in our city, most strikingly for those living the experience of homelessness, but also for their families, for those providing services, for local organizations and businesses and for all members of our community disheartened by our failure to do better.

When faced with a tragedy and challenge, often we come together for solutions. However, at times, we turn against each other in conflict.

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It is dismaying to see local businesses and social services at odds regarding next steps in supporting people in London’s east end. The Old East Village business improvement area recently suggested relocating services might improve things for the neighbourhood. However, this risks missing the bigger picture. Similarly, I worry Coun. Susan Stevenson suggesting mental health and substance treatment services as the sole solution may be doing the same.

People most likely to be experiencing homelessness are those in poverty, and are disproportionately those who live with a mental illness or substance use disorder. It is easy to assume these are the causes of homelessness. However, this assessment does not hold true, statistically, because while rates of mental illness and addictions are fairly consistent across Canada, and across comparator nations, rates of homelessness vary drastically.

Internationally, compare Finland, Canada, and the U.S., where rates of mental illness are equal. Yet, Canada has a far higher rate of homelessness than Finland and the U.S. has a far higher rate than us. More locally, Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver see much higher rates of homelessness than Saskatoon, Quebec City and Belleville, yet nearly identical rates per capita of substance use disorders.

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Statistics Canada uses core housing need as its metric of housing deprivation, and core housing need is actually highest in our wealthiest cities and lowest in our lower-income cities. Homelessness therefore is not caused by poverty, mental illness or addictions but rather by housing unaffordability. Our wealthiest, most desirable cities have the highest rates of homelessness as people compete for housing. Poverty, mental illness and addictions then serve not as causes, but rather as discriminators of who is most likely to become homeless when housing is deeply unaffordable.

Indeed, the homelessness crisis in London is an outcome of our successes: rapid growth and high desirability leading to an exponential increase in housing costs and rents accelerating since 2018. As our city has gotten wealthier and our populations has boomed, while very few new affordable housing units have been built, homelessness has been created.

Therefore, relocating social services or increasing treatment services are not fundamental solutions to the problem. Of course, as a nurse with a focus on mental health and addictions I recognize more treatment services are desperately needed as those seeking support are waiting on inexcusably long waiting lists. However, the only upstream solutions to homelessness itself involve creation of housing units, offered affordably, and with wrap-around supports for those who need supports. Indeed, services like Ark Aid reduce visible street homelessness by providing a place for people to be while they are being connected into housing.

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The recent purchase of a closed long-term care facility by a group of business leaders, to be handed to a permanent supportive housing provider to house those in greatest need, is a perfect example of how we can come together for solutions. Our city will be better if rather than fighting with those who are helping, or getting stuck on reactive responses, we can collectively work to create more housing options.

Abe Oudshoorn is an associate professor in the school of nursing at Western University and managing editor of the International Journal on Homelessness.

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