500-600 WORDS total for all three questions You have learned that successfully implementing policies to disrupt homelessness relies on a multidisciplinary and interprofessional approach. Drawing from
You have learned that successfully implementing policies to disrupt homelessness relies on a multidisciplinary and interprofessional approach. Drawing from your own discipline (child and youth care, criminology, early childhood studies, midwifery, nursing, psychology, social work, etc.), please create a posting in which you answer the following questions:
Which policy or intervention from Finland, Australia, and Wales would you adopt and implement to end homelessness in the Canadian context?
Which policy or intervention from Finland, Australia, and Wales would you use to disrupt pathways to youth homelessness in Canada?
Based on the answers provided in A and B, can you think of a collaboration with another profession or discipline that could strengthen your efforts?
Please post by Friday July 8th at 11:59 p.m. ET.
This discussion activity is worth 5% of your course grade.
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In Canada, we can adopt the Housing First model that Finland uses to help end homelessness in Canada. Finland has taken a different approach to the Housing First model in which they focus on the health and safety of their citizens rather than the economic concerns, they provided supported that had: no rules (other than having overnight guests), non-mandatory rehabilitation services, health and social services, and on-site care services, and they followed through with users appropriately (Knowledge of Health, 2019). The way Finland uses this model allowed those experiencing homelessness to have somewhere to go to pursue their goals and overall improve their quality of life (Knowledge of Health, 2019). In North America the Housing First model is not as successfule because there is a strong focus on economic concerns, they simply provide temporary housing rather than long term supported housing, they lacked a plan to follow through and provide services, and they used a one size first all model rather than adjusting to population needs (Braithwaith & Wixson, 2020a). Canada should look at how Finland implemented the Housing First model and adopt it in the country to help solve homelessness in Canada.
Something that can be implemented in Canada to disrupt pathways to youth homelessness in Canada is the Australian Geelong Project. The Geelong Project surveys youth to help identify their risk of encountering crisis (Braithwaith & Wixson, 2020b). We can use this program in Canada as a preventative measure for homelessness. By surveying and interviewing youth we can see who is at risk and what can be done to prevent crisis from occurring. Tackling the issue before it happens, is an effective way to help prevent homelessness in individual's lives. Dr. Mackenzie Aust states that the Geelong project is shown to be effective as adolescent homelessness was reduced by 40% (about 300,000 people) (Braithwaith & Wixson, 2020b).
Reflecting on my answers provided I would collaborate with the discipline of early childhood studies. Early intervention is an effective response to preventing homelessness. Early childhood studies are often teachers or those who work with children. These individuals connect with the youth, so they are able to assess the risk a child may be at in terms of experiencing crisis (like the Geelon Project). Children often trust their teachers and are able to tell them when things may be of concern. As a teacher they may be able to help address the concern and work with others to prevent crisis from occuring.
References
Braithwaite, M. and Wixson, M. (Hosts). (2020a, May 7). Juha Kaakinen the Chief Executive of Y-Foundation in Finland [Audio podcast episode]. In Out of the Blue. Blue Door. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9vdXRvZnRoZWJsdWUubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/ZGRkM2FhNmUtZmZjYi00MzlhLTk2NTgtZTMwNGNlZDRlNThm?ved=0CBUQzsICahcKEwjY44OBronqAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDQ&hl=en-CA
Braithwaite, M. and Wixson, M. (Hosts). (2020b, May 21). Dr. David Mackenzie - Australia [Audio podcast episode]. In Out of the Blue. Blue Door. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9vdXRvZnRoZWJsdWUubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/MTIyN2ZkYTQtOTQ2Ni00ZjVjLTg4ODgtZGQyZTBkNmQyYTQ0?ved=0CA0QzsICahcKEwjY44OBronqAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQMg&hl=en-CA
Knowledge of Health. (2019, Mar 11). How Finland adapted the U.S housing first model to create their own national program [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xO8qPEluY
I would like to see the adoption of Finland’s Housing First Model within a Canadian Context. This could be achieved by creating a program that places the achievement of housing as a top priority for all Canadians. One must not bar individuals from utilizing said housing for any reason (for example, debts, drug usage, lack of employment). To do this, Canada should look to transition its shelters and other short-stay housing complexes into long-term affordable housing units. This change must also be subsequently paired with an increase in the amount of affordable housing available to Canada’s residents. Finland also prioritizes giving support to those utilizing the housing model. I would like to see Canada implement a nutrition program, education program, and emotional support programs to go alongside the housing first model.
In order to disrupt youth homelessness in Canada, I would like to see the implementation of Australia’s family-focused early intervention programs. According to Robinson (2018), family friction or rejection is often one of the most common causes of youth homelessness. If Canada were to adopt a family early intervention program, we could reduce the amount of friction within a family and hopefully limit the amount of homeless youth as a result of family issues. Tying my healthcare experience into this choice, the program must value anonymity over everything else. Families need to feel safe and comfortable that their fights and dirty laundry won’t be shared or discussed outside the therapeutic scenario. The early intervention program must also be cost-free for the participants in order to further incentivize its usage.
I believe that in order for my goals to be achieved, collaboration with policy makers is necessary. Implementation of these programs require government support and funding. Without policy makers working along side us, we will be unable to galvanize enough public support to force the debate on the implementation of said policies. Furthermore, these programs will require a large amount of monetary support from the government. Policy makers will work to increase taxes or find other revenue streams to support the above-mentioned programs.
Citations
Robinson, B. A. (2018). Conditional families and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and Queer Youth Homelessness: Gender, sexuality, family instability, and rejection. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80(2), 383–396. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12466
Which policy or intervention from Finland, Australia, and Wales would you adopt and implement to end homelessness in the Canadian context?
I really enjoyed the information given about the interventions and policies taking place in Finland. The way they approach the Housing First model could most definitely be implemented in Canada to create a more effective approach to ending homelessness rather than just dealing with it. As Juha discusses in the Out of the Blue Podcast, Finland's approach to homelessness is one that involves intervention with the goal of ending homelessness rather than managing it (Braithwaite & Wixson, 2020). The approach involves providing folks with long-term housing and support in order to keep them housed, rather than investing in emergency shelter situations that only deal with homelessness in a short-term scenario. It evolved the Housing First model to a more progressive and holistic approach. This involves providing long-term housing with supportive staff, long-term case management, employment rehab, and community involvement/development and support. This approach gives people their rights back and adds a more person-centred humanized approach to the model.
This could be adapted in Canada as Canada tends to deal with homelessness in a more traditional emergency response approach. There is less focus on long-term support and more emphasis on emergency shelters and hostels. We also do not have enough policies, structures, and social assistance programs to support people. The ones we do have do not model the holistic approach that Finland is taking. We could adapt this by having more community housing built in community settings with more long-term support put into place modelled after this approach. Finland has managed to cut its homelessness significantly by dealing with not only the immediate issue but the long-term pathways. The interventions they employ help people stay housed by supporting with their self-development, rather than just housing them at the moment. This approach is also more cost-effective.
Which policy or intervention from Finland, Australia, and Wales would you use to disrupt pathways to youth homelessness in Canada?
I think the Geelong project would be a great intervention to adopt in Canada because it involves an early intervention. One of the key pieces I have learned while studying this topic is that the most important way to help homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. This involves targeting the youth who are vulnerable to becoming homeless. This early intervention is key in disrupting the pathways to homelessness. As discussed in the Out of the Blue Podcast with Dr. Mackenzie, early intervention and prevention are the key here. They identified youth who may be approaching crisis situations (family violence etc) and worked with the schools to ensure help was available early on (Braithwaite & Wixson, 2020). Collaborations are so important and I think we are lacking this here in Canada. I think in Canada we turn a blind eye to our youth when from what the research is showing in these countries, they are the ones we need to focus on the most.
Based on the answers provided in A and B, can you think of a collaboration with another profession or discipline that could strengthen your efforts?
When hearing these stories, I could not help but think back on my education in recreation with elders. We learn from a holistic person-centred model, however, the struggle always is that the medical field has not quite caught up with this approach. I think this rings true when it comes to the topic of homelessness in Canada. The approaches being discussed were what appeared to be a holistic and more person-centred approaches. Research is constantly showing that this works better. Yet, our system has always functioned on such a basic level, dealing with problems as they come rather than dealing with the source. Treating people as problems instead of as people. I see this in my field working with the elderly every day.
I do not work with youth, however, I do see homeless elders as I work in placement. Elders are one of the most underserved populations out there, and the discussion on how we should deal with their housing has been taking place for a long time. The way we currently and previously dealt with it involves institutionalizing them and giving them basic care, but after many years we are seeing this is not working. Now we are building communities for residents to live together, providing them with the chance to engage in activities and enjoy a quality of life. However, this is mainly a luxury only afforded to those who can afford private care. Long-term care itself does involve these services now, but they are very much lacking. This model could collaborate with this sector as well, as this is something the system is very much needed. The government does not provide enough funding to give this to our elderly population and we come back to the same issue as homelessness. Dealing with the problem when it's an emergency but not treating the whole person. I think if Canada adopted the approach Finland used to manage the elderly and elderly homelessness in Canada we would see great change. Weare already seeing this in some places where they are creating dementia villages and adopting a person-centred approach to dementia care. This is the same for the homeless elderly.
With all that said, we are focusing on youth in this piece and I was having difficulty blending this with my profession. However, I thought of our intergenerational program. We offer intergenerational programs in the homes where the homes work with local schools and have the children come in and work with the elders either doing an activity or teaching them something. We also do this with high school students and we invite them to come and teach a senior how to use an iPad or a computer. This is something that could be used as an intervention because there are many elderly people who have at one point in their life been homeless or currently are. I would involve the elderly in intergenerational relationships with the youth at risk, creating bonds and allowing storytelling so that early intervention can take place and the youth can seek guidance from their elders. This is something that has been taking place for centuries in other cultures, but Canada tends to look down upon their elderly population and we have lost value in this. This will not only build up our elderly clients but it will allow mentoring for the youth who are deemed at risk.
Braithwaite, M. & Wixson, M. (2020, May 7). Juha Kaakinen [Podcast episode]. Out of the Blue. Blue Door https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9vdXRvZnRoZWJsdWUubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/ZGRkM2FhNmUtZmZjYi00MzlhLTk2NTgtZTMwNGNlZDRlNThm?ved=0CBUQzsICahcKEwjY44OBronqAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDQ&hl=en-CA
Braithwaite, M. & Wixson, M. (2020, May 21). Dr. David Mackenzie [Podcast episode].Out of the Blue. Blue Door https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9vdXRvZnRoZWJsdWUubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/MTIyN2ZkYTQtOTQ2Ni00ZjVjLTg4ODgtZGQyZTBkNmQyYTQ0?ved=0CA0QzsICahcKEwjY44OBronqAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQMg&hl=en-CA
