Many women without children in their care who become homeless in Canada remain homeless for many years. Yet their experiences remain misunderstood and largely ignored because of the ways we define and measure homelessness in Canada.
I have worked in the women’s emergency shelter system in Hamilton, Ont., since 2012. I have met many women who have been navigating homelessness for years — with no permanent solution to their housing crisis. For my PhD in social work, I interviewed 21 women who had experienced homelessness for a year or longer in Hamilton. I asked them about their experiences, and through art-based activities, about their ideas for housing and support.
What I learned in the interviews, combined with existing research, highlights a hidden crisis. Within our current system resides a profound human cost that manages, instead of resolves, homelessness.
