Hidden Homelessness

Hidden Homelessness

Hidden homelessness, which is often overlooked, refers to people and families who do not have a reliable place to live at night. Based on the Canadian Definition of Homelessness, the group referred to as "hidden homelessness" is classified as "provisionally accommodated." In contrast to those who live on the streets, these people temporarily seek safety in unstable environments, such as couch-surfing, living in cars, or occupying overcrowded locations. According to research, a Canadian study conducted in Vancouver estimated that for every person suffering homelessness, 3.5 were considered unhoused. Applying this 3:1 ratio across the country, it is estimated that up to 50,000 Canadians are homeless in secret on any given night. Although this issue is often neglected, it is still significant to understand these less obvious types of homelessness, as it reveals the difficulties that people are experiencing and may even be people around you.

Forms of Homelessness

Couch-surfing is one prominent form of hidden homelessness that refers to living temporarily with friends and moving around often. Although it offers a place to live, this living style is not reliable, causing these people to be in a state of uncertainty and must be dependent on the kindness of others in order to survive. By couch-surfing, many relationships will be strained, and individuals impacted by this instability will often feel alone and powerless.

Another kind of hidden homelessness is living in cars, which is mainly caused by financial difficulty or expensive housing. Nonetheless, many problems can arise in this situation, such as poor sanitation, limited access to energy, and dangerous weather. In addition to this, these individuals have little living space and insufficient sleep, which will have a negative impact on both physical and mental health.

Another form of hidden homelessness is people who live in cramped or inadequate locations. These circumstances result in issues with privacy, poor mental health, and a greater chance of getting contagious illnesses. In addition, people living like this find it very difficult to focus on tasks such as school or steady work due to their feelings of instability.

Significance of this Issue

The difficulties encountered by individuals who are facing hidden homelessness are significant. A 2016 report by Statistics Canada has shown that around 1 in 10 Canadians have experienced hidden homelessness before. However, as hidden homelessness is often not visible, results are often underestimated, meaning that more people could be suffering from this issue. Overall, it is evident that hidden homelessness is not an issue that should be overlooked and is affecting numerous people. Some strategies to help combat this issue include providing more services such as social assistance, mental health services, affordable housing efforts, and educational support for the hidden homeless population. However, in order to fund these services, we will first need to raise public awareness of these less obvious kinds of homelessness. We hope to address this issue and adjust system design and policy development to better meet the needs of this population as we gain more knowledge on hidden homelessness. Given the number of Canadians who experience hidden homelessness, we will need to inform more people and develop more solutions to end homelessness.

References

Hidden Homelessness | the Homeless Hub. www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/population-specific/hidden-homelessness.

Youth Homelessness and Vulnerability: How Does Couch Surfing Fit? | the Homeless Hub. www.homelesshub.ca/resource/youth-homelessness-and-vulnerability-how-does-couch-surfing-fit.

Understanding Hidden Homelessness | the Homeless Hub. www.homelesshub.ca/blog/understanding-hidden-homelessness.