Homelessness among older people: Assessing strategies and frameworks across Canada
Keywords:
policy, practice, aging, social exclusion, poverty, housingAbstract
Homelessness among older people is expected to rise as a result of unmet need and demographic change. Yet, strategies and responses to homelessness across Canada tend to focus on younger groups, overlooking the circumstances and needs of older people (i.e., age 50+). This article reports the results of a content analysis of government planning documents on homelessness conducted in 2014. A total of 42 local, provincial, and federal strategies were reviewed to assess the extent to which they recognized and targeted the needs of older people. Our review resulted in three categories of documents: 1) documents with no discussion of homelessness among older people (n=16; 38%); 2) documents with a minimal discussion of homelessness among older people (n=22; 55%); and 3) documents with a significant discussion of homelessness among older people (n=4; 7%). Results indicate that while many strategies are beginning to consider older people as a subgroup with unique needs, little action has been taken to develop comprehensive services and supports for this group. We conclude with a call to integrate the needs of diverse groups of older people into strategies to end homelessness and to develop programs and responses that are suitable for older people.
L’itinérance parmi les personnes âgées: Évaluations des stratégies et des structures à travers le Canada
Résumé
Il est prévu que l’itinérance chez les personnes âgées augmentera au cours des prochaines années, en raison des changements démographiques et des besoins non comblés que l’on observe actuellement. Malgré cela, les stratégies et les réponses à l’itinérance au Canada tendent à être centrées sur les populations plus jeunes, ignorant les besoins et réalités des personnes âgées. Cet article présente les résultats d’une analyse de contenu des stratégies canadiennes sur l’itinérance effectuée en 2014. 42 stratégies ont été recensées afin d’évaluer dans quelle mesure elles reconnaissaient et ciblaient les besoins des personnes âgées.
Notre analyse regroupe en trois catégories les documents recensés : 1) les documents qui n’abordent pas l’itinérance chez les personnes âgées (n=16; 38 pour cent); 2) les documents abordent très brièvement l’itinérance des personnes âgées (n=22; 55 pour cent); 3) les documents abordant de façon substantielle l’itinérance des personnes âgées (n=4; 7 pour cent). Les résultats indiquent que bien que plusieurs stratégies commencent à prendre en considération le fait que les personnes âgées constituent un sous-groupe qui présente des besoins particuliers, peu d’actions ont été entreprises afin de développer des services et un soutien adaptés à leur réalité. Nous concluons en rappelant l’importance d’intégrer les besoins de différents groupes de personnes âgées aux stratégies qui visent à mettre fin à l’itinérance et de développer des programmes et réponses qui sont adaptées à une population âgée.
Mots Clefs : politique; pratique; vieillissement; exclusion sociale; pauvreté; logement
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