Glossary
Homelessness
Typically refers to
(a) a personal or family condition of living without access to an adequate, permanent, safe, and secure home.
(b) a societal problem consisting of a growing number of people living without access to adequate, permanent, safe, and secure homes.
Homeless
Persons or families living on the streets or in other places are not intended or suitable for permanent residence.
- Absolute homeless
Homeless persons or families who have no shelter at all. An alternate term for these persons or families is the shelterless.
At-risk of homelessness
A person or family that is experiencing extreme difficulty maintaining their housing and has no alternatives for obtaining subsequent housing. Circumstances that often contribute to becoming at-risk of homelessness include eviction, loss of income, unaffordable increase in the cost of housing, discharge from an institution without subsequent housing in place, irreparable damage or deterioration to residences, and fleeing from family violence. - Chronic homeless
- Hard-to-house
Homeless persons or families who have been continuously homeless for a year or more, or have experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.
- Transient/temporarily homeless
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Persons or families who have been homeless for less than 1 year and have had fewer than four episodes of homelessness in the past 3 years.
Housing First
Describes the approach or model of programs that aim to help homeless persons or families quickly access and sustain permanent, affordable homes. The key principles that distinguish a Housing First approach from other strategies include:
- An immediate and primary focus on obtaining permanent housing that is not time-limited.
- Varied, flexible, and responsive support services are offered around the clock, often including aggressive outreach by an ACT team (definition below).
- Access to permanent housing is not conditional upon engaging any support services, and vice versa. The only way people lose their housing is by violating their lease agreement.
- Financial assistance, often in the form of rent subsidies, security deposits, income supports, as well as assistance with budgeting and financial literacy.
- Assistance with the development of relationships with landlords, negotiating lease agreements, paying rent on time, and searching for appropriate housing.
- Case management services help people keep their housing and become successful at improving their overall well-being and independence.
- Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team: An interdisciplinary team of professionals available around the clock to provide treatment, support and other needed services. The ACT team will typically engage people immediately after they have secured permanent housing and will regularly offer a variety of services to choose from. Services may be delivered in people's homes or in community offices or clinics. ACT teams might include social workers, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, counsellors, addictions specialists, housing specialists, employment specialists, administrative assistants, and other professionals.
- Continuum of housing
The spectrum of accommodation options that meet a range of needs and standards, including physical adequacy, space and capacity, and affordability. The continuum is often used in reference to a model of housing and support services whereby people progress from one end of the spectrum (short-term housing) towards the other (safe and affordable market housing).
- Short-term housing
- Emergency housing/shelters
Provide temporary, typically overnight, accommodation to people who would otherwise sleep on the streets. They are not intended to be regular residences. Shelters may also provide support services in relation to addictions and/or mental health, health, education and employment needs. - Transitional housing
Typically provides temporary accommodation (up to 3 years) to individuals who wish to stabilize their housing situation while resolving other issues in their lives, such as unemployment, addictions and/or mental health, education and violence. Individuals and families living in transitional housing have access to a mix of supportive services that would enable them to move towards self-sufficiency and more independent living. - Long-term housing
- Supportive housing
Typically provides long-term accommodation with a support component to allow people to live as independently as possible. The housing providers, whether public, private or nonprofit, receive funding to also provide the support services to the residents, who also often receive some direct funding. Supportive housing is also called special needs housing.
Note: There is a distinction between supportive housing and supported housing. The latter refers to accommodations with support services that are not linked to the housing. - Social housing
Social housing is provided to very low-income households who are capable of living independently, without a need for support services. On-going subsidies (either to publicly-owned operators or to community-based, non-profit housing corporations, or to private landlords) enable rents to be paid by residents on a "rent-to-income" basis (usually 30% of gross household income). Social housing is also called subsidized, community, or public housing. - Affordable housing
Housing that provides permanent accommodation to low-income individuals and families who earn less than the median income and spend more than 30% of their gross household income on housing. Typically, households who live in affordable housing do not require on-going support services or housing subsidies.
Case management
A collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, and evaluation of the options and services required to meet an individual's health and human service needs. It is characterized by advocacy, communication, and creative resource management to promote quality, cost-effective outcomes.
- Support Services
Programs, services and strategies used in helping persons and families to enhance their independence or self-sufficiency and prevent homelessness. Examples include counselling, assistance with daily living activities such as meals and housekeeping, treatment, financial supports, and development of personal, social, and employment skills, among many others kinds of care.
- Harm reduction
Any policies, programs, or practical strategies designed to reduce harm and the negative consequences related to substance abuse, without requiring the cessation of substance use. Harm reduction is typically characterized by meeting substance users "where they're at," addressing conditions and motivations of drug use along with the use itself, and acknowledging an individual's ability to take responsibility for their own behavior. Examples of interventions include safer use, managed use, and non-punitive abstinence.
- Multiple Diagnosis
People who have chronic alcohol and/or other drug use problems and/or a serious mental illness and/or are HIV-positive. Related and synonymous terms include dual diagnosis, triple diagnosis and co-occurring disorders.
Last revised May 2, 2008
Sources
Calgary's 10-year plan to end homelessness by Calgary Committee to End Homelessness (2008).
Commission for Case Manager Certification,
Community plan by Edmonton Joint Planning Committee on Housing (2005).
Glossary of terms. in Homelessness and chronic homelessness: The partnership to end long-term homelessness.
Glossary of terms related to homelessness from House Bill 2163 and other sources.
Harm reduction: Its meaning and applications for substance use issues. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2002).
Homelessness. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition (2007).
Homelessness by Patricia Begin, Lyne Casavant, Nancy Miller Chenier, and Jean Dupois (1999). Political and Social Affairs Division and Economics Division, Parliamentary Research Branch.
What is Housing First? National Alliance to End Homelessness (2006).