Competing perspectives on rural homelessness: Findings from a qualitative study in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Rural homelessness in Canada has only recently been acknowledged, and several gaps remain in our understanding of the phenomenon and how it is influenced by the rural context. This qualitative exploratory study aimed to help understand the experience of housing insecurity, factors that lead to rural homelessness, and potential solutions to the housing crisis in a rural Ontario community. Interviews were conducted with 27 participants: 16 individuals who were housing insecure and 11 key informants who had knowledge of the local homelessness situation. Data collection took place between August 2020 and May 2021 and inductive analysis was concurrent. Findings revealed competing perspectives on the magnitude of the crisis, its root causes, and potential solutions to rural homelessness. The invisible nature of rural homelessness and values of individualism that assign responsibility for homelessness to poor choices rather than structural factors may account for these different perspectives. Stigma also played an important role in how homelessness was understood, particularly for individuals who were homeless and perceived to be using substances. The lack of privacy, limited services, and low housing stock in the rural environment contributed to challenges with overcoming homelessness. Strategies to help improve supports for individuals facing homelessness include anti‐stigma education, capacity building, and inclusion of people with lived experience of homelessness in decision and policymaking. Prevention should also be incorporated into the response to rural homelessness through intersectoral collaboration and upstream policies that target the structural drivers of homelessness.

The NB Housing Summit: Solutions to Promote Housing Affordability in the Mid-sized City of Saint John, New Brunswick

“…This is partly related to the need for affordable housing in both populations, but it is also related to the pragmatic reality that policymakers lack a shared understanding of the problem, which adequately specifies the crisis to which they are responding. In the context of rural Ontario, Buck-McFadyen (2021) identified 'competing perspectives' on homelessness that impaired effective responses, divided between "individualist and conservative ideologies" that attributed homelessness to "poor choices," and approaches that prioritized "structural factors and gaps in the social safety net" (p. e2008). Put another way, partnerships to address housing require "a shared vision," anchored in "shared values, interests, and goals" (Sixsmith et al, 2017, p. 42).…”

“…This is particularly problematic within the Atlantic Canada region. Specifically on the issue of homelessness, most studies highlight solutions and interventions that are implemented in large urban contexts (Marshall et al, 2022;van der Merwe & Doucet, 2021), although research that focuses on smaller jurisdictions has begun to emerge within the last decade (Buck-McFadyen, 2021;Howse & Breen, 2022;Marshall et al, 2022;Waegemakers Schiff et al, 2016). More specifically, there is a lack of research on local housing solutions in mid-sized city contexts (Brown & Teixeira, 2015;van der Merwe & Doucet, 2021), which leaves policymakers and other vested groups to employ non-evidencebased interventions that are often poorly understood, or to adapt solutions and housing models from large cities that may or may not meet the needs of local residents.…”

“…This is problematic as addressing complex social problems requires innovative, dynamic, and multifaceted solutions (Worton, 2020), alongside radical systems change that involve prioritizing human rights over capital accumulation (Madden & Marcuse, 2016). Further, developer-led solutions often ignore lived expertise -a positive factor that is needed to build successful and meaningful local housing strategies that can address the concerns and realities experienced by residents (Ansloos et al, 2021;Buck-McFadyen, 2021;Fang et al, 2016;Sixsmith et al, 2017). Some scholars suggest cross-sectoral collaboration as a promising mechanism to generate housing solutions that meet local needs (Buck-McFadyen, 2021;Sixsmith et al, 2017;Woolrych et al, 2015).…”

“…Further, developer-led solutions often ignore lived expertise -a positive factor that is needed to build successful and meaningful local housing strategies that can address the concerns and realities experienced by residents (Ansloos et al, 2021;Buck-McFadyen, 2021;Fang et al, 2016;Sixsmith et al, 2017). Some scholars suggest cross-sectoral collaboration as a promising mechanism to generate housing solutions that meet local needs (Buck-McFadyen, 2021;Sixsmith et al, 2017;Woolrych et al, 2015). Cross-sectoral collaboration provides a mechanism through which policy actors can view a problem as existing within broader social contexts (Sixsmith et al, 2017;Woolrych et al, 2015).…”