Vineeth.Sekharan's blog

It’s true that the challenges Canadians face with food insecurity are different from the challenges felt by countries in the global south. However, the call to reduce hunger resonates. On this World Food Day, let’s take a look at how housing affordability and the housing market are related to food access.

Homelessness is commonly misunderstood as being a problem that only affects adult men and women. In actuality, the range of groups experiencing homelessness is very broad and includes youth and young families. Homelessness, and factors linked to homelessness, strongly impact the ability of children to be successful in their studies.

In towns and cities across Canada, shelters are the primary response communities have to homelessness. Emergency shelters provide homeless people with temporary housing and access to much needed resources. These resources may include food, informal counselling, and some form of healthcare. Shelters provide homeless individuals with access to a network of resources that alleviate some of the difficulties they face. Today, shelters are the cornerstones of service provision in most communities.

People who are homeless are often viewed as being threats to public safety. It's assumed that homeless individuals are inherently harmful and prone to violence. This harsh generalization of all homeless individuals has direct implications on laws, enforcement of law and the criminal justice system's treatment of homeless individuals. In the absence of affordable shelter and housing options, many individuals are forced to live outdoors in areas such as public parks.

Access to safe and nutritious food is essential for everyone’s wellbeing. A lack of access to safe and healthy food has especially serious implications for young people.

The term Aboriginal Peoples refers to Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Metis populations. Together, they constitute Canada's indigenous population. Aboriginal groups have their own distinct and valuable cultural heritage and background. They share a history of oppression and abuse, marked by centuries of historical trauma.

Shelters are the cornerstones of service provision to the homeless in many communities across Canada. The below infographic, published by Inn From the Cold, details some information about services offered by this family shelter in Calgary. It's commonly thought that it’s only single men and women that experience homelessness, however this is simply untrue. Single-parent families and children form a substantial part of Canada's homeless population.

Despite the advances in treatment and awareness surrounding mental health issues in recent years, mental illness still carries an enormous amount of stigma. The infographic below, published by Homeless Link UK, provides some details about the complex relationship that exists between mental health and homelessness.

The relationship between homelessness and sexual violence is more complicated than it appears at first glance. The infographic below, published by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center of the United States, illustrates the strong link that exists between housing and sexual violence.