and differences between Canadian-born and foreign-born respondents to the Panel Study. 1. For further .... Ontario: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa is a longitudinal investigation of individuals’ pathways into and out of homelessness over time. More than 400 individuals who were homeless in 2004 were interviewed and 62% were interviewed again two years later. This article reports on the similarities and differences between Canadian-born and foreign-born respondents to the Panel Study.
Comparing Foreign-born and Canadian-born Respondents The Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa FRAN KLODAWSKY Carleton University
TIM AUBRY University of Ottawa
REBECCA NEMIROFF University of Ottawa
BENHAM BENHIA Carleton University
MARTA YOUNG University of Ottawa
CARL NICHOLSON Catholic Immigration Services
The Panel Study on Homelessness 1 was developed in response to the City of Ottawa’s interest in facilitating collaboration among academic researchers, government officials and service organization managers. Its purpose was to examine pathways into and out of homelessness over time, by following the trajectories of persons who were homeless at the time of the first interview. For a seven-month period beginning in October 2002, more than 400 individuals were interviewed as part of the Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa; among them, 99% were born elsewhere than in Canada. With the support 1
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For further information about the Panel Study on Homelessness, please see Aubry et al. (2003 and 2004).
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of funds from the National Homelessness Initiative, researchers looked in detail at their experiences and how they differed from those born in Canada (Klodawsky et al. 2004). Two years after the Phase 1 interviews, Panel Study investigators contacted and re-interviewed about 62% of the original sample. The characteristics of the Phase 2 respondents were very similar overall to those interviewed in 20022003, including the proportion of foreign-born to Canadian-born individuals. One major goal of the Panel Study was to investigate as diverse a group as possible about their experiences of being homeless. As a result, the study results do not reflect the fact that there are more adult men who live in emergency shelters in Ottawa than there are women, children
or youth. The sampling strategy was devised to capture the range of key characteristics within each of five sub-groups – adult men, adult women, adults with children, male youth and female youth – as well as the emergency shelters and services they utilized. Different sampling strategies were used for each of the sub-groups. In particular, staff from the women and family shelters emphasized that many residents were immigrants or refugees and the data that was made available confirmed this to be the case. Consequently, cultural interpretation services were offered and the adult women and adults with children sub-group samples were stratified with regard to citizenship as well as length of stay. This was not the case for the adult men or youth sub-groups. Thus, it is possible that the Panel Study may have greater numbers of foreign-born women than would be the case in a representative sample.
Comparing the characteristics of foreign-born and Canadian-born respondents at Phase 1 Of the 99 individuals who were not born in Canada, just over half came to Canada as refugees and the rest came as immigrants. While the Canadian-born group had approximately equal numbers of men and women, among the foreign-born group, 79% were women. These foreign-born women included 84% of the refugees and 74% of the immigrants. Many of these women were living with children under 16. In fact, 53% of the sample of adults with children was composed of individuals who were not born in Canada. Foreign-born individuals came from approximately 40 different countries. While some were very recent arrivals, especially among the refugees, one-third of the immigrants had arrived before 1990. Among the refugees, many came from African countries such as Somalia, Djibouti and Rwanda. Using matching samples in terms of age and sex, the researchers identified the following trends: • Foreign-born respondents were more likely to be homeless because of financial reasons. The second most common reason was family conflict. It is possible that this may have something to do with the research finding that recent immigrants and refugees prefer living in extended family arrangements. A third reason given for becoming homeless, equally true for
foreign-born and Canadian-born respondents, was flight from spousal or partner abuse and, specifically, wife battering. • Foreign-born respondents on the whole had more education than did the Canadian-born sample. However, some refugees had very little schooling. • The employment status of both foreign-born and Canadian-born individuals was similar. Most were not working for pay or were looking for work. • Foreign-born respondents were less likely to use health and social services than were the Canadian-born respondents. • In comparison to a general population sample, foreign-born respondents had a high level of mental and physical health. This was in sharp contrast to the Canadian-born individuals, whose physical and especially mental health status was lower. • Overall, the foreign-born respondents had different characteristics than those born in Canada. Their reasons for being homeless were more clearly linked to a series of external barriers, such as not enough affordable housing, restrictions on the ability to compete for jobs, or inadequate childcare supports. The Canadian-born group on the whole was more vulnerable in terms of mental and physical health, education, or problems with alcohol or drugs.
Comparing foreign-born and Canadian-born respondents over time Our preliminary results indicate that, compared to their Canadian-born counterparts, the foreignborn respondents experienced greater housing stability, as revealed by a smaller number of moves over the study period and increased probability of being housed. However, it is also the case that adult women and adults in families were more likely than other subgroups to be stably housed and, as noted above, most foreignborn participants belonged to these subgroups. Foreign-born respondents were also more likely to reside in subsidized housing. The increased access to subsidized housing is likely an important contributor to housing stability, and may be a result of housing policies that favour families with children, as well as women escaping domestic violence.
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Policy recommendations • There is a pressing need for coordinated action among all levels of government to address the homelessness of foreign-born as well as Canadian-born individuals. The problems that result in individuals and families becoming homelessness are multi-faceted. Indeed, Panel Study respondents provided examples where it is possible that government programs and policies might inadvertently have contributed to their homelessness. • As well as overall coordination among federal, provincial and municipal government agencies and departments, there is a need for policies and programs that are focused but that also recognize that specific problems overlap with one another, and through complex interactions, raise the risk of homelessness. For example, family conflict, partner abuse, poverty and the stress caused by inadequate housing have often been linked. While federal and provincial governments have resources to deal with the housing aspect, the effects of these problems are often left to municipalities and community organizations to address. • The central benefits that having enough safe, permanently affordable, stable housing through a revitalized social housing sector needs to be recognized. Right now, there is simply not enough social housing to help all those who equally deserve to be helped in this way. • Finally, federal and provincial governments need to improve the range of health and social services that address the unique needs of newcomers. Unfortunately, mainstream services have been caught between budget cutbacks and the defense of existing programs and have not been able to address the different needs and approaches of newcomers.
About the authors FRAN KLODAWSKY is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University. She is principal co-investigator of the Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa. Her areas of specialization are identity and urban politics; restructuring, identity, housing and homelessness in Canadian urban areas; urbanism in an age of globalization, and the progressive potential of local politics. TIM AUBRY is Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Ottawa and Chair of the Research and Evaluation Working Group of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa. He is principal co-investigator of the Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa. His areas of specialty include community mental health, mental health services, program evaluation, developmental disabilities, social services, “de-institutionalization,” homelessness and child welfare. REBECCA NEMIROFF is a doctoral candidate in the University of Ottawa Department of Psychology. Her research draws upon the Panel Study of Homelessness in Ottawa and examines the community integration of women who have been homeless. MARTA YOUNG is Associate Professor in the University of Ottawa Department of Psychology. She specializes in crosscultural psychology, immigrant and refugee adjustment, and migrant women, trauma and well-being. BEHNAM BEHNIA is Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Carleton University. He specializes in issues related to the resettlement and integration of immigrants and refugees, immigration and refugee policy, psychosocial impact of political repression, war and torture, trust and trust building, support systems and formal volunteering. CARL NICHOLSON is Executive Director of the Catholic Immigration Centre in Ottawa and Executive Director of the Catholic Immigration Centre Foundation. Supporting both Boards of Directors, Carl oversees an annual operating budget of $2.8M, and a staff of 48 supported by 800 volunteers. Together they serve 5,000 clients each year who are newcomers to the Ottawa-Carleton region.
References Aubry, T., F. Klodawsky, E. Hay, and S. Birnie. 2003. Panel Study on Persons who are Homeless in Ottawa: Phase 1 Results. Ottawa, Ontario: University of Ottawa, Centre for Research on Community Services. Aubry, T., F. Klodawsky, E. Hay, R. Nemiroff, and S. Hyman. 2004. Developing a Methodology for Tracking Persons Who are Homeless Over Time. Final Report. Ottawa, Ontario: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
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