Facts and Figures
The situation of an individual, family or community without stable, safe, permanent, or appropriate housing.
What is homelessness?
Donating your time to an organisation supporting unhoused people in your community.
What is volunteering?
This simple, friendly action is the first thing you can do when you see a neighbour who is unhoused.
What is saying 'hello'?
Treating someone differently because they are homeless is an example of this.
What is discrimination?
These heated spaces (often public libraries and community centres) open for unhoused people to drop-in during winter months
What are warming centres?
False: Almost everyone wants to be housed. Our slow response entrenches homelessness.
True or False: People choose to be homeless.
A person that you can make phone calls or write letters to in order to express your concerns and opinions surrounding policy in your community.
What is your local MP?
After saying hello, this is a good way to make your unhoused neighbours feel seen in the moment.
Have a conversation with someone if they are interested, leave them alone if they aren’t interested
The forcible removal of a person or people from their home(s). Often a concern for people living in encampments.
What is eviction?
Having respectful conversations with those around you to challenge stereotypes surrounding unhoused people.
What is mythbusting?
235,000
What is the number of homeless Canadians per year?
If you don’t feel ready to help directly, one helpful thing you can do online is this.
What is engaging with local advocacy groups on social media?
Respecting a tent or makeshift shelter as someone’s personal space means treating it like this.
What is their home?
This right is recognized as part of the right to an adequate standard of living in international human rights law.
What is the right to housing?
Providing the information and tools necessary to educate and protect those who are working through substance dependencies.
What is harm reduction?
40 to 47 years.
What is the average life expectancy of a person who is homeless?
A feeling that some people may experience around people experiencing homelessness. Acknowledging and understanding the root of these feelings can help you to overcome them and educate others.
What is discomfort?
When you hear a friend use a discriminatory term such as 'crackhead', this is something brave that you can do.
What is speaking up and/or respectfully educating them.
A phenomena that began in Canada in the 1980s, when cutbacks to government investments in affordable accomodations began.
What is the housing crisis?
A space where people without stable housing can go to see to their private personal and hygiene needs.
What are maintained public washrooms?
Strucutral factors, individual and relations factors, and systems failures.
What are the causes of homelessness?
Events that you can organise at your school to collect necessities to donate to local food banks and/or shelters.
What are food/clothing drives?
1. Money
2. Food
3. Water
What are three things that you can give to someone you see outside?
True: Regardless of housing circumstances, every person in Canada is entitled to the same human rights.
True or False: People living in encampments need to be recognised as human rights holders.
Individuals representing a variety of groups within the community who share a common interest or concern. Collaboration between these individuals can help create and drive social change.
What are stakeholders?