Pathways into homelessness

Understanding how both individual and structural factors contribute to and sustain homelessness in Canada

Bibliographic Data

ID10861981
AuthorsMyra Piat (0000-0002-5933-0974, McGill University, corresponding author), Lauren Polvere (Douglas Mental Health University Institute), Michael Kirst (0000-0002-2662-8475, University of Toronto), Maritt Kirst, Jijian Voronka (0009-0004-4961-801X, University of Toronto), Denise Zabkiewicz (Simon Fraser University), Marie-Carmen Plante (Université de Montréal), Marie‐Carmen Plante (Université de Montréal), Corinne A Isaak (0000-0002-7787-3411, University of Manitoba), Corinne Isaak (University of Manitoba), Danielle Nolin (Université de Moncton), Gerald Nelson (0000-0002-6626-2172, Wilfrid Laurier University), Geoffrey Nelson (Wilfrid Laurier University), Paula Goering (0000-0002-2976-2127, University of Toronto)
Year2015
Volume52
Issue13
Pages2366-2382
Publication date2015-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueUrban Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0042-0980 • E-ISSN: 1360-063X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0042098014548138
OpenAlexW2130902536
LanguageEN
Citations received54
References cited37

This qualitative study examined how homeless individuals with mental illness experience pathways into homelessness. Study participants were enrolled in the At Home/Chez Soi project, a Pan-Canadian Randomized Controlled Trial comparing the Housing First approach with Treatment as Usual for homeless individuals. This inquiry is grounded in social ecological perspective, which considers interactions between individual and structural factors. Findings from consumer narrative interviews ( n = 219) revealed that individual factors, such as substance abuse, relationship conflicts and mental health issues significantly contributed to homelessness, in addition to structural transitions from foster care and institutional settings into the community. Additional structural factors entrenched participants in unsafe communities, created obstacles to exiting homelessness and amplified individual risk factors. The study findings confirm the role of individual risk factors in pathways into homelessness, but underscore the need for policies and interventions to address structural factors that worsen individual risks and create barriers to exiting homelessness

Housing First · Mental health · Mental illness · Perspective (graphical · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Qualitative research · Sociology · Substance abuse · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Psychology

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