Housing insecurity: the face of poverty

Julia is a single mother who is a paycheck away from being homeless. She has a low income job and spends more than 30 per cent of her income on rent, and is on a long waiting list for social housing. She cannot afford child care for her two children and is often forced to make hard economic choices between basic needs or depending on food banks and other social assistance to make ends meet.

This story is about just one of many Canadians who are facing housing affordability challenges and are trapped in the cycle of poverty. The visible signs of housing insecurity across Canada are part of a bigger picture of the impact of poverty. The reality is that poverty creates social exclusion and inequality by denying people access to affordable and adequate housing and to full participation in the economy and society. While poverty creates barriers for people to live responsibly and build healthy communities, lack of decent housing is detrimental to the health and well-being of individuals and families.

Poverty also includes having inadequate income to obtain life’s necessities and live in dignity. However, when it comes to addressing housing needs, we tend to equate the lack of affordable housing with supply, resulting in a disconnect between housing and income. Inadequate income is one of the main causes of housing insecurity in that people are not earning a livable wage to pay for housing. The rising cost of rent coupled with income insecurity increase the challenges of housing affordability for low income Canadians living in poverty and struggling to meet their basic needs. As the gap between the rich and poor widens and income inequality increases with Canada’s economic growth, we need a conscious effort to address poverty and to ensure that all Canadians, regardless of income, can access affordable housing.

Since housing is an essential component of social, economic and personal well-being, it must be placed in an integrated view of addressing poverty. In order to tackle housing needs, we need to address poverty and income insecurity as part of a holistic approach. A national poverty reduction strategy would see housing insecurity as an aspect of poverty and would show a serious commitment to reduce poverty and meet housing needs.

By committing to a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy, the government can target those affected most by deepening poverty and housing insecurity such as Aboriginal peoples, immigrants and women, especially single mothers. Finding affordable and adequate homes in the housing market is one of the biggest challenges for those disadvantaged by poverty. Government must pay special attention to marginalized people and respond accordingly to their needs.

The government should show the political will to fight poverty and put housing on its national agenda by working toward a long term strategic plan with measurable targets, timeline and indicators. Sustained funding with accountability and partnerships across governments and other sectors of society are key to ensure long-term solutions to affordable housing.

A possible strategy could have the government reducing core housing need by 20 percent over 5 years and expanding the stock of affordable housing by 10 per cent of the total annual housing each year. The government could aim to end chronic homelessness in 10 years by creating new transitional, supportive and permanent affordable housing with appropriate support programs.

By identifying groups that are particularly disadvantaged or at risk of poverty and housing insecurity, the government could introduce measures to ensure particular funding and resources are available to the marginalized in a manner that creates more equitable opportunities for affordable housing.

A responsible budget calls the government to invest in housing by committing to sustained funding to build affordable housing and to maintain and rehabilitate existing housing. This means renewing and extending the three existing housing programs due to expire March 2009, but also going beyond one time funding allocation to ensure a long term strategic investment in housing. Structures to ensure accountability are needed to measure progress and make sure effective policies and programs are in place to meet housing needs.

For a housing strategy to be sustainable, adaptable and innovative, the federal government should work with provinces and municipalities and support provincial housing programs and poverty reduction strategies. There should be a spirit of co-operative federalism so that each level of government within its capacity can contribute to the well-being of communities.

Housing is an issue that affects everyone and in order to ensure housing for all, we need to address poverty and income security as part of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy. The government should take a leadership role in ensuring access to affordable and adequate housing in its fight against poverty. Housing conditions across the country will reflect the kind of society we want to become, a society that sees housing as a basic human right and recognizes that everyone has the right to live in dignity and have a place to call home.