In Canada, many people don’t have homes. This problem has grown because of decisions made by the government. A long time ago, there were many social houses that helped people with low incomes afford a place to live. Today, there are very few social houses, and rents are getting really high. This makes it hard for older people, who usually have fixed low incomes, to find a home. Without affordable housing, older adults may become unhoused, which can lead to more health problems. Many health care groups are trying to find solutions to this big problem.
The Decline of Affordable Housing
In the past, about 20% of homes in Canada were social housing. This type of housing helped people with low incomes find affordable places to live. Now, less than 4% of homes are social housing. Because of this, many people, especially older adults, are struggling to pay their rent. When there is not enough affordable housing, older people may have to leave their homes. This situation can cause them to face health issues, which puts a lot of pressure on hospitals and health care services.
Hospitals Helping with Housing
Hospitals can work with social service organizations to make sure everyone knows how important affordable housing is. They can tell decision-makers that more affordable housing is needed. When hospitals and social services work together, they can help patients who are homeless both when they are in the hospital and when they go home.
Some hospitals are trying new ways to help people. For example, they can use public land to build supportive housing. In Guelph, Ontario, a health center created a housing company in 2009. This company built 80 rental homes for low-income seniors with help from the government. In Edmonton, a new project started in 2023, offering 36 beds for people who are leaving emergency care. In Toronto, a health network found that 51 patients without homes visited the emergency room over 3,300 times. Because of this, they decided to build 51 homes for these patients with help from the city and a nonprofit housing group.
Why This Matters
It shows how serious the problem of homelessness is when hospitals are using their resources to build housing. It also shows that regular ways of helping, like keeping people in the hospital for a long time, are not working and are costing too much money.
With the 2024 budget, the Canadian government is trying to fix the problem of affordable housing. They are focusing on using public land to build homes for those in need. They have a program with $4 billion to help build affordable housing for people without homes. This program could also help hospitals work together with the government to give more people access to housing.
The new steps taken by the government are a good start, but there is still a lot to do. Canada needs to have a bigger conversation about how to improve funding for cities and towns. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities wants the government to work together with local communities to create a new plan that helps them grow and get the services they need.
Under perfect conditions, hospitals wouldn’t have to build homes. However, the health system cannot build enough affordable housing to solve the problem. Still, hospitals can help in many ways. Ignoring homelessness is not a good option, and doing nothing is too costly for Canadian society.
