Curated Resources about the homeless as a marginalized population in Canada

The BC Healthy Living Alliance works with the government to develop policies and actions for healthy living in British Columbia. The BC Healthy Living Alliance is advocating for income and Disability rates to be informed by data on real market costs. Homeless people have a range of chronic health problems due to their extreme poverty. They are less likely to receive adequate medical care and more likely to draw upon emergency medical services. Housing Security Policies. (2023, Nov 9). Retrieved from BC Alliance for Healthy Living: https://www.bchealthyliving.ca/bchla-policies-housing-security/

While Canada has universal health care, there are still many barriers preventing individuals and families experiencing homelessness from accessing health services. The lack of identification – particularly their health ID card – is often cited as the biggest barrier to obtaining health care for people experiencing homelessness. Another significant barrier is following up on prescriptions (due to lack of insurance benefits or inability to pay the co-payment) or ongoing medical “home treatment” (such as sitz baths, bedrest or wound care).

Public Health Care & Service Delivery. (2021). Retrieved from Homeless Hub: https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/service-provision/public-health-care-service-delivery

https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/BelongingStrategy.pdf

Belong BC is the Homelessness Plan for the Province of BC. The plan is a collaborative effort between the Ministries, Indigenous, and community partners. Belonging BC goals are to prevent and reduce homelessness; and to ensure that when it does occur, it is rare, brief and one-time. These goals are achieved through three strategic paths: prevention, immediate response, and stability and community integration. The document outlines the budget, timeline and future steps needed.

The article discusses previous studies that show the benefit of discharging previously homeless patients to transitional and long-term housing. The benefits include improved mental health recovery, participation in the community, as well a significant reduction in future emergency room visits and hospital admissions.  Social workers were surveyed with questions to discuss the challenges of coordinating discharge for homeless patients. The observation of the Social Workers found people experiencing homelessness often face adversities that those with stable housing do not.

Resources:

BC Alliance for Healthy Living. (2023). Retrieved from Housing Security Policy: https://www.bchealthyliving.ca/bchla-policies-housing-security/#_edn2

Columbia, G. O. (n.d.). Belonging in BC: A collaborative plan to prevent and reduce homelessness. Ministry of Housing.Retrieved from https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/BelongingStrategy.pdf

The Homeless Hub. (2021). Retrieved from Public Health Care & Service Delivery: https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/service-provision/public-health-care-service-delivery

Morris, R., Lewis, F., Baker, N., Saul, M., & Bohachewski, K. (2022). “I Have Failed Them and Failed My Duties”: Experiences of Hospital Social Workers Discharging Patients into Homelessness. 

Health & Social Work, 

47(1), 45–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlab039