Homelessness in Canada

Term Paper # 103639

Canadian Studies
Sociology

An analysis of homelessness as a social issue in Canada.

1,247 words () | 7 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how homelessness has been described as a chronic illness affecting all societies regardless of the degree of economic development and overall wealth of the nation. It contends that homelessness seems to be a social ill that, short of mandating public housing facilities for every citizen, cannot be completely eradicated. It also examines how the various research projects that have been tasked with studying this difficult social conundrum have typically approached the issue with strong academic objectives and usually combined with a sincere desire to affect positive change.

Outline
Overview
Homelessness
Dimensions of Homelessness

From the Paper:

"Burt has pointed out the causality of homelessness by identifying its three primary causes: structural, individual and governmental (Burt). Yet, all of these various causes are nuanced and tend to manifest themselves either in unique fashions from one society to another or in a complexity of several of them together. As one homeless individual describes his homelessness, the direct impact that governmental policies, local or national, can have on homelessness, is readily apparent (Kerr par.23). Clearly the impact of urban revitalization can be a real stimulant to homelessness because by removing all the low-income housing in an area without supplying new low income housing elsewhere is guaranteeing an increase in the local homelessness rates. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Burt, M. R. "Chronic Homelessness: Emergence of a Public Policy." Fordham Urban Law Journal, 30/3(2003): 1267+.
Calsyn, R. J. "A Modified ESID Approach to Studying Mental Illness and Homelessness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 32/3-4(2003): 319+.
Kerr, D. "We Know What the Problem Is": Using Oral History to Develop a Collaborative Analysis of Homelessness from the Bottom Up. The Oral History Review, 30/1(2003): 27+.
Klitzing, S. W. "Women Living in a Homeless Shelter: Stress, Coping and Leisure." Journal of Leisure Research, 36/4(2004): 483+.
Klodawsky, F., Farrell, S., & D'Aubry, T. "Images of Homelessness in Ottawa: Implications for Local Politics." The Canadian Geographer, 46/2(2002): 126+.