Are homeless shelters really all that accessible?

What are homeless shelters?

Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency that provides a temporary residence for homeless individuals and families, keeping them safe and protecting them from exposure to the weather. Shelters can reduce the environmental impact on the community. They are similar to, but distinguishable from various types of emergency shelters. Natural disasters or abusive social circumstances are a few examples of emergency shelters. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather.

Homeless shelters in Canada

Canada has an estimated homeless population somewhere between 150,000 and 300,000 people as reported in 2014. A part of the increase of people becoming homeless is the “lack of affordable rental units. Canada has responded to an increase in homelessness by increasing the amount of shelter space available to individuals. A study done in Canada found that individuals entering shelters and warming centers experienced a loss of their sense of personhood. Therapeutic Conversation therapy (the face-to-face process of interaction that focuses on advancing the physical and emotional well-being of a patient) has been tested and found successful in Calgary with a small group of homeless shelter residents in improving their mental health outcomes.

Shelters for the disabled

Some disabled individuals find that they do not have the accessibility to homeless shelters. Disabled people can be more vulnerable to homelessness due to low employment, discrimination from landlords, and financial reasons. Barry Taylor, the vice president for civil rights and litigation at Equip for Equality, said it is vital that homeless services are accessible. “If it’s not accessible, it has potentially dire circumstances and consequences,” he said. “If people can’t get into a shelter in extreme conditions, it can lead to the extreme situation of someone dying.” In 2019, a lawsuit was filed against city-funded Chicago homeless shelters for discrimination against people with disabilities. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff Laura Martin, who has rheumatoid arthritis, was turned away from multiple shelters due to her difficulty in walking. Other examples of discrimination shown by shelters are the turning away of those in wheelchairs, people who are deaf, and blind people.

Ways to solve problems related to homeless shelters

Those in need of shelters have to wait for two, or three hours for the shelters to open. If it’s raining or snowing, the homeless get soaking wet. If it’s cold, the people are freezing by the time they get in. Shelters are great, and the warming centers are great, but there’s still a problem. Shelters need to be open and they need to show that they welcome every human being. The best way to figure out accommodations in homeless shelters is through an interactive process, in which we can engage with the homeless to figure out what they think makes sense, and then we can evaluate our resources and try to figure out how to best meet those needs. As mentioned above, therapy and other methods to improve the mental well-being of individuals need to be used by shelters. A nationwide volunteer group in Canada, the Angels in the Night, sponsored by Invis-Mortgage Intelligence, donates cold-weather clothes and other supplies to homeless people, visiting shelters and individuals on the streets. In 2015, Clean the World began a Canadian Operations Center in Montreal to supply soap for homeless shelters.

Works cited

1. “Homeless Shelter.” Wikipedia, 28 Apr. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeless_shelter#Canada.

2. Lubbers, Max. “Community Members Reflect on Homeless Services’ Accessibility.” The Daily Northwestern, 12 Feb. 2020, dailynorthwestern.com/2020/02/11/city/community-members-reflect-on-ways-accessibility-impacts-homeless-services/.

Researcher: Theertha Aravind (Researcher + Editor from Power to the Youth Toronto)

Editor: Elini Sothy (Editor from Power to the Youth Toronto)

Date published: June 8th 2022