Iglutaasaavut (Our New Homes): Neither “New” nor “Ours”: <i>Housing Challenges of the Nunavut Territorial Government</i>

Tester, Frank

doi:10.3138/jcs.43.2.137

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Racism in the housing and employment markets and in government services are also reported in Whitehorse (Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition, 2011) and Yellowknife (Christensen, 2017). Research points to the combined effects of colonial settlement and social policy and the intergenerational impacts of colonialism on Indigenous peoples, as well as the specific role that these geographies play in framing homelessness amongst Indigenous Northerners (Tester, 2006;Christensen, 2013Lauster and Tester, 2014). The intergenerational impacts of colonialism are tied to the prevalence of racism experienced by Indigenous peoples, as well as poor mental health, addictions, family violence, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, children in foster care, and incarceration, all of which can contribute to homelessness (Bopp, 2007a, b;Minich et al, 2011;Badry and Felske, 2013a, b;Christensen, 2013Young and Moses, 2013).…”

Section: Key Themes In the Canadian North Homelessness Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anecdotal accounts provided across the three territories indicate that hidden forms of homelessness, particularly couch surfing, are even more pervasive than visible homelessness, especially outside urban locales (Webster, 2006;Bopp, 2007a, b; Lauster and Tester, 2014; City of Yellowknife, 2015). Within those urban locales, studies have shown that people living homeless engage in innovative strategies, such as constructing makeshift tents, camps, and sleeping in warm stairwells or utilidors (insulated aboveground water and sewage lines) to find warmth and shelter (Tester, 2006;Westfall, 2010;Christensen, 2017). This is particularly the case among those men, women, and youth who cannot (or for various reasons will not) access space in emergency shelters.…”

Section: The Canadian Northmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Christensen (2012) suggests that uneven and fragmented social, institutional, and economic geographies result in a unique landscape of vulnerability to homelessness in the Canadian North. Writing about the Nunavut context, Tester (2006Tester ( , 2009 cites the implementation of flawed northern settlement plans and the introduction of inadequate northern housing as principal factors in the high rates of unemployment and housing need in northern communities, two factors which he argues are significant contributors both to hidden forms of homelessness in small settlement communities and to the migration to larger centers of Northerners vulnerable to homelessness. In the Yukon, Mechan (2013) suggests that it is common for individuals to arrive from rural communities to attend medical appointments, shop, or connect with services and then find themselves without transportation back home.…”

Section: Key Themes In the Canadian North Homelessness Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Homelessness across Alaska, the Canadian North and Greenland: A Review of the Literature on a Developing Social Phenomenon in the Circumpolar North

Christensen¹,

Arnfjord²,

Carraher³

et al. 2017

ARCTIC

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Over the past three decades, homelessness has become an area of significant social concern in Alaska, the Canadian North, and most recently, Greenland. These three geographical contexts show both similarities and contrasts, but no effort has yet been made to review the research literature on homelessness from these three regions or to highlight key themes or gaps in current knowledge. We reviewed the literature in order to 1) understand the current state of knowledge of the dynamics of homelessness in Alaska, the Canadian North (here including Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), and Greenland and 2) conceptualize a northern geography of homelessness. The research literature identifies common themes across these contexts, which include chronic housing insecurity, overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples among those living homeless, and the significance of gendered experiences of homelessness. It identifies key interconnections between hidden homelessness and visible homelessness as the dynamics of urbanization in northern towns and cities reveal the social consequences of chronic housing insecurity in settlements. Across these northern regions, the high rates of chronic homelessness reflect the prevalence of northern housing insecurity and the lack of both adequate, appropriate support for people experiencing mental health or addiction problems and supportive or public housing options. Strategies that aim to diversify housing stock at various critical points along the housing spectrum are needed in northern regions, an idea that is promoted by Housing First and transitional housing programs in Alaska and the Canadian North.

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Section: Key Themes In the Canadian North Homelessness Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Canadian Northmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Key Themes In the Canadian North Homelessness Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Homelessness across Alaska, the Canadian North and Greenland: A Review of the Literature on a Developing Social Phenomenon in the Circumpolar North

Christensen¹,

Arnfjord²,

Carraher³

et al. 2017

ARCTIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Similar to cohousing developments, longhouse designs vary but typically consist of two rows of houses facing each other and a common area in between, sometimes covered, depending on the climate, providing space for multiple families and generations to live in close proximity without overcrowding. Overcrowding and the need for privacy in on-reserve housing is a problem, especially, but not only, for younger generations (Tester, 2009).…”

Section: Potential For First Nations Cohousingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health should promote co-operative housing and cohousing

Lubik

Kosatsky

2019

Can J Public Health

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In promoting healthier built environments, attention worldwide has focused largely on streetscapes and recreational spaces, with less regard given to housing form, in particular to the health effects of communal housing. Research demonstrates that communal housing models, such as cohousing and cooperative housing, promote social inclusion, and increase the perceived well-being and mental and physical health of residents, particularly of seniors. In Canada, relative to other countries, there is a paucity of evidence for the health effects of cooperatives and cohousing. Historically, some Indigenous communities constructed longhouses, connected dwellings situated around common areas, a form which may still be useful in promoting healthy communities. In this commentary, we suggest that improving access to cooperative and communal housing is an important area for public health involvement. Résumé Partout dans le monde, les efforts de promotion d'environnements bâtis plus sains se sont concentrés en grande partie sur le paysage des rues et les espaces récréatifs, et moins sur les formes d'habitation, en particulier les effets des habitations communautaires sur la santé. Des études ont montré que les modèles d'habitation communautaire, comme la cohabitation et les coopératives, favorisaient l'inclusion sociale et amélioraient la perception du bien-être et de la santé mentale et physique des résidents, surtout les personnes âgées. Au Canada, comparativement aux autres pays, les effets de la cohabitation et des coopératives sur la santé ne sont pas suffisamment documentés. Autrefois, certaines collectivités autochtones construisaient des longues maisons, c'est-à-dire des unités d'habitation connectées autour d'aires communes, une structure qui pourrait s'avérer utile encore aujourd'hui dans la promotion de collectivités saines. Dans ce commentaire, nous suggérons que les services de santé publique devraient s'investir dans l'amélioration de l'accès aux coopératives et aux habitations communautaires.

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“…More than 50 percent of Inuit resided in overcrowded homes, compared with less than 10 percent of the rest of the Canadian population (Tester, 2009). In 2004, the Nunavut Housing Corporation and NTI estimated that 3000 public housing units were needed immediately to bring levels of overcrowding in Nunavut down to those in the rest of the country.…”

Section: Nunavut Todaymentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Beginnings of Learning”: Attempting to Understand Poverty and Poverty Reduction in Nunavut

Crump¹

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This thesis examines Nunavut's poverty reduction strategy and the public engagement process that produced it. It begins with a brief history of the territory's poverty reduction efforts before examining the theoretical understandings of poverty and poverty reduction that guide this research. It then offers a narrative of the Nunavut Roundtable for Poverty Reduction's public engagement process, followed by an examination of the objectives that shaped its design. Next, the differing perspective on poverty and poverty reduction that exist in Nunavut are explored, as is the focus of poverty reduction efforts on healing and wellbeing. This thesis concludes by arguing that the Roundtable process has created a space to discuss the legacy of twentieth century federal policy and administration in a way that connects it directly to the roots of poverty in Nunavut.

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Iglutaasaavut (Our New Homes): Neither “New” nor “Ours”: Housing Challenges of the Nunavut Territorial Government

Cited by 25 publications

References 12 publications

Homelessness across Alaska, the Canadian North and Greenland: A Review of the Literature on a Developing Social Phenomenon in the Circumpolar North

Homelessness across Alaska, the Canadian North and Greenland: A Review of the Literature on a Developing Social Phenomenon in the Circumpolar North

Public health should promote co-operative housing and cohousing

“The Beginnings of Learning”: Attempting to Understand Poverty and Poverty Reduction in Nunavut

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