Cities continue to grapple with affordable housing for aboriginals

Frances Sanderson sees a lot of hardship walk through the doors of Nishnawbe Homes, a non-profit provider of aboriginal housing across the Greater Toronto Area. Often it’s young people moving to the big city from their rural reserves in search of more opportunities, or what she calls the “big life” their parents never had.

“Like moths to a flame they come,” says Sanderson, executive director of Nishnawbe Homes, which has more than 200 spaces and a waiting list of up to 10 years for some of its units.

The problem she sees is a growing number of aboriginal people moving to the city, many of whom are unable to find housing. There’s a lack of affordable places to live in, but many of these aboriginals also don’t have the life skills and education to get work and make the transition to urban living.

Frances Sanderson says she sees countless aboriginals flock to cities in search of lives their parents never had. (CHARLA JONES FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

“These are good people who are on the street,” Sanderson notes. “The need [for housing] is critical.”

Aboriginal people make up a disproportionate segment of the homeless population in major urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg. And they experience “significant barriers to wellness and success,” says a recently released study by Suzanne Stewart, a psychologist and associate professor of indigenous healing in counselling psychology at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Her research indicates that those barriers are linked to poverty, a lack of education, intergenerational trauma from the residential-school system in the past, and physical as well as psychological health issues.

“It’s not about housing; it’s the about the support people need to stay housed,” says Stewart, who is a member of the Yellowknife Dene First Nation herself and was homeless as a teenager before turning her life around in her mid-20s.

The homelessness issue is particularly alarming, given statistics showing that aboriginals are the fastest-growing population in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the aboriginal population increased by 20 per cent, or by 232,385 people, between 2006 and 2011, compared to 5 per cent for non-aboriginals. Aboriginal youth ages 15 to 24, who are among the generation leaving home for the first time, make up 18 per cent of the total aboriginal population and about 6 per cent of youth in Canada.

Among Stewart’s recommendations is to call on governments to change policies and current systems by offering more integrated, culturally sensitive services for aboriginal people.

Affordable housing has been a particular problem for aboriginals living in cities. (CHARLA JONES FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

“It’s really about understanding that people are homeless, not because they want to be or choose to be but because they have no other options,” Stewart says. “It’s about beginning to recognize that providing options to people who live on the street — [options] that fit their circumstances — is what is going to work, not applying a cookie-cutter one-size-fits-all approach.”

Grand Chief Derek Joseph Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is all too familiar with the issues surrounding aboriginal homelessness. Winnipeg is home to Canada’s largest aboriginal population, at about 11 per cent of the population, according to Statistics Canada — versus 2.7 per cent of the population in Calgary, 2 per cent in Vancouver, and less than 1 per cent in Toronto — and they are most likely to experience homelessness due to the rising cost of living. About 50 per cent of aboriginals in Winnipeg are under age 25.

The Eagle Urban Transition Centre (EUTC), a social services organization operated by AMC, helps aboriginals making the move from remote reserves to the city. Many newcomers are unable to access affordable housing in the city and face discrimination, says Nepinak, on top of the challenges of adapting to a new culture and to life in an urban centre. He notes too that EUTC doesn’t have adequate resources to serve the growing number of people coming to the city and relying on the centre’s services. More than 15,000 people come to EUTC each year, looking for help with everything from getting identification to writing a resumé.

“[EUTC is] a very busy place,” says Nepinak. “We are constantly trying to find resources to keep the doors open.”

Aboriginal people make up a disproportionate segment of the homeless population in major urban centres. (FRED LUM/THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

He believes it’s the role of cities, and all levels of government, to be aware of the growing need for aboriginal support services and the challenges they face. “The city is an intimidating concrete jungle for a lot of people coming from the [remote] communities. I think we’re on the right track in identifying the services needed; they just need to be more robust.”

Aboriginal groups are crossing their fingers that the federal government’s national housing strategy will help to decrease the rate of homelessness among their population. Government funding over the years has, in fact, led to a number of happy endings. For instance, Sanderson reports having attended many post-secondary school graduation ceremonies for students who lived for a time at one of the units at Nishnawbe Homes. At least one former resident has a PhD and another runs a similar housing program in Ontario, helping people like herself.

“There are lots of good stories,” says Sanderson. “It’s what keeps [us] going.”