Abstract

Homelessness in a Northern Ontario Community

Carol Kauppi, Ph.D. and Rasmi Garg, Ph.D.

This paper will present the preliminary results of a three-year study of homelessness in Sudbury funded by the National Homelessness Initiative. The multi-methods study has gathered data from more than 1,000 homeless individuals in order to describe their characteristics of homeless people and reasons for being homeless. Data on physical and mental health problems and access to health care servcies have been collected from a subsample of 217 people. As part of the study, a community survey on attitudes to homelessness has also been conducted in which over one thousand local community members have participated.

The current paper will focus on a comparison of the experiences of homeless women and their children with those of homeless men, taking into account any differences based on ethnicity/culture (i.e. for Anglophones, Francophones, and Aboriginal people). In particular, the association between homelessness and experiences of trauma, abuse and violence will be examined as will the community capacity to address the central issues for homeless people. The perspectives of local residents on the links between domestic violence and homelessness, and on solutions to homelessness will also be presented briefly. The results will be discussed within the context of current government policies (local, provincial, and federal) on poverty and homelessness. The paper will address several of the conference themes including child poverty, the urban agenda, and First Nations' policy.

Bios

Dr. Carol Kauppi is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Laurentian University. Her research interests have centred on child and family poverty, homelessness, and the organization and delivery of services for children and families in northern communities. She has worked closely with the Social Planning Council of Sudbury where she developed an innovative research and demonstration program for teen mothers - Cybermoms: A Computer Mediated Program for Pregnant Teens and Young Mothers - through a partnership with the School of Social Work at Laurentian University. She is currently conducting a three-year, multi-methods study of homelessness in Sudbury. Dr. Kauppi's primary teaching interests focus on research methods and social policy. She has served as a research consultant for a variety of institutions and ministries including the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services, the Ontario Regional Directorate of the National Homelessness Initiative, local governments in Northern Ontario, including the City of Greater Sudbury, and many social service agencies.

Dr. Rashmi Garg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Laurentian University. Her research interests have focussed on adolescent development, youth transisitons, educational processes, career attainment, life stressors, ethnic and cultural issues, and more recently homelessness.She has been working on an approach to understanding the educational aspirations and career goals of adolescents by building and testing models that take into account familial, psychological, sociological factors. Dr. Garg’s primary teaching interests centre on quantitative research methods and statistics. She is a member of a research team studying homelessness in Sudbury.

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