The Salvation Army released their national study on homelessness today. According to Canwest News Service
According to the survey, almost all shelter users said they want to move into permanent housing, while nearly half reported mental health problems or alcohol or drug addictions.
On average, shelter users have been homeless for three years and the lack of affordable low-income housing has resulted in emergency shelters becoming long-term housing replacements, Harris said.
"It becomes more of a longer term response than it should be," Harris said. "Instead of people being there for a couple of weeks to get back on their feet, they end up being there for a longer period of time because there aren’t employment supports or housing supports — things they need to move and transition back from the shelters into the communities."
The Salvation Army provides nearly 6,400 emergency and short-term housing beds for men, women and families each night, accounting for one-quarter of all shelter beds in Canada.
The full survey can be found online here (PDF)
i literally just got back from a tour of the Salvation Army shelter here in Winnipeg. i’m a welfare worker so shelter, employment and homelessness issues are right up front for me. the Salvation Army is doing lots of important work in Canada and yeah, it does look like the system has to be revamped so that we can figure out some solutions.