Sheltering Urban Aboriginal Homeless People Table of Contents
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Sheltering Urban ASSESSMENTAboriginal OF SITUATION Homeless AND NEEDS People In collaboration with The Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg 1 November 2007 • Prepared by Andrew Webster We really appreciate you coming here and seeing our problems. You say you’ll tell it like it is. We believe you. But why is it they want to hear what some professor guy from Ottawa has to say? We’ve been telling the feds our problems all along. I guess they just don’t write any of it down. Representative of an urban Aboriginal shelter. Sheltering Urban ASSESSMENTAboriginal OF SITUATION Homeless AND NEEDS People Table of Contents Foreword by the Author ..................................................................7 Executive Summary ........................................................................9 Part 1 – Introduction .....................................................................17 Background .........................................................................................................17 Scope of the Project ..............................................................................................17 Methodology .......................................................................................................19 General Approach ................................................................................................ 19 Data Requirements ................................................................................................ 19 Ethical Considerations............................................................................................ 20 Case Studies and Field Research ............................................................................. 21 Key Informant Interviews ......................................................................................... 23 Media Report Scan ............................................................................................... 23 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 24 Part 2 – Needs of Aboriginal Shelters: State of the Knowledge ............25 Part 3 – Findings and analysis .......................................................33 Approach to the Analysis .......................................................................................33 Observation #1: The approaches of shelters for Aboriginal people, run by Aboriginal people, differ fundamentally from mainstream shelters; these differences make Aboriginal shelters more effective than mainstream shelters in assisting Aboriginal clients. ..................34 Aboriginal Homeless People and Mainstream Shelters ................................................. 34 What Makes an Aboriginal Shelter “Aboriginal”? ....................................................... 40 Sheltering Urban Aboriginal Homeless People Table of Contents Observation #2: Some of the culturally sensitive features, programmes, and services that characterise the core business of Aboriginal shelters require special funding over and above what a mainstream shelter needs for its own core business. ....................44 Beyond Stereotypes: Visualising Aboriginal Shelters ..................................................... 44 Unique Aspects of Aboriginal Shelters ....................................................................... 55 Observation #3: The National Homelessness Initiative did not acknowledge that the provision of ongoing funding, for urban Aboriginal shelters, is a necessary and appropriate role for the federal government; this created conditions contrary to sound management, accountability, and programme impacts. .......................................................................................67 The Observation in Context .................................................................................... 67 Reluctant Intervention: Ottawa in the ‘Homelessness Business’ ........................................ 68 Even More Reluctant: Ottawa in the ‘Aboriginal Homelessness Business’ .......................... 70 Most Reluctant of All: Provinces, Territories, and Municipalities in the ‘Aboriginal Homelessness Business’ .......................................................................... 73 ‘Sustainability’ Then and Now ................................................................................. 77 Observation #4: The former National Homelessness Initiative incorrectly assumed a level playing fi eld in the abilities of mainstream and Aboriginal shelters to support themselves with funding other than federal government; yet urban Aboriginal shelters are systemically and signifi cantly disadvantaged in their attempts to obtain non-federal funding, especially to pay for special programme activities designated ‘Aboriginal’. ...................................81 The Observation in Context .................................................................................... 81 Informants on Barriers to Raising Revenues ................................................................. 81 Strategies for Financial Survival ............................................................................... 87 Observation #5: An emerging political competition for control of urban Aboriginal shelter delivery poses real and signifi cant risk to the present fragile and partial collection of Aboriginal shelter programmes. ...............................................................................95 Conclusions and Recommendations ..............................................101 Sheltering Urban Aboriginal Homeless People Table of Contents Bibliography .............................................................................117 Appendix A – Urban Aboriginal Shelters in the Context of Federal Homelessness Initiatives ................................................136 Appendix B – Detailed Methodology ............................................136 Limitations upon the Methodology .......................................................................... 137 Key Informant Interviews ....................................................................................... 139 Appendix C – Profi les of Case Study Shelters ..................................145 Appendix D – The Demography of Urban Aboriginal Homelessness ....145 Understanding this Appendix in Context .................................................................. 145 The Problem of Counting Aboriginal Homelessness .................................................... 145 Demographics of Aboriginal Populations – General ................................................... 147 Extent of Urban Aboriginal Homelessness – General Considerations ............................. 150 Extent of Urban Aboriginal Homelessness – British Columbia ....................................... 151 Extent of Urban Aboriginal Homelessness – The Prairie Provinces ................................. 152 Extent of Urban Aboriginal Homelessness – Eastern Canada ....................................... 158 Appendix E – Declared Revenues of Selected Shelters ......................165 Endnotes ..................................................................................171 Sheltering Urban Aboriginal Homeless People Foreword by the Author Housing and Homelessness Branch, of Human Resources and Social Development Canada, commissioned this Report. The funding came from the National Homelessness Initiative’s National Research Programme. The project was facilitated by the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) in collaboration with the University of Winnipeg. The data collection and analysis occurred between December 2006 and April 2007. The Report was fi nalised after a review and feedback process, involving academic reviewers and a shelter stakeholder committee anchored by the NAFC, lasting though June 2007. After several months of contemplation, in October 2007, Housing and Homelessness Branch pronounced the Report satisfactory in terms of fulfi lment of research contract obligation. It was then proof-read a fi nal time and one fi nal observation was added: Canada’s economic performance in October 2007 is unprecedented, yet there is no reason to think that the problem of homelessness has become any better. Moreover, this Report took nearly half a year to appear in print, but the situation and issues facing urban Aboriginal homelessness are fundamentally unchanged. The urgent matters remain urgent. The full Report will be available for download at the NAFC’s website (www.nafc.ca). A summary of the Report will be posted in both offi cial languages on the Homelessness Partnering Strategy’s website (www.homelessness. gc.ca/home/index_e.asp). Readers may freely use, circulate, and make copies of this Report. Stakeholder organisations may post it on their websites for free public downloading. These permissions are conditional upon not altering the Report. Please cite the Author and origin when quoting from, or referring to, this Report. The NAFC, the University of Winnipeg, and especially the stakeholders allowed me full academic freedom to conduct this Study. I express my sincere thanks to the stakeholder participants who allowed me unfettered access to details of their operations and provided unvarnished commentary on factors for success. Nonetheless, except where the views of informants, participants, and others are stated, the views expressed in the Report are my own. The research, conclusions, and recommendations do not necessarily represent the views of the federal government,