Homelessness In Our Community
Homelessness exists in rural communities, but it does not always look the way people expect.
When many of us picture homelessness, we may think of someone sleeping on a sidewalk, staying in a large urban shelter, or living in an encampment. Those experiences are real, but they represent only part of the housing insecurity spectrum.
In rural communities, homelessness is often quieter and less visible. Someone may be moving between friends' homes, staying temporarily with family, sleeping in a vehicle, living in a motel, remaining in an unsafe relationship because they have nowhere else to go, or staying somewhere that is overcrowded or unstable.
A person can be experiencing homelessness without ever sleeping outside.
Homelessness and poverty can feel inconsistent with the way we understand rural life. Because homelessness is often thought of as an urban issue, it can be difficult to recognize it when it happens closer to home.
Sometimes this means homelessness is minimized, explained away or understood as an unusual individual circumstance rather than part of a broader housing issue. When homelessness does not fit with how we imagine our community, it can be tempting to explain it as something that has been brought in from somewhere else. In reality nearly 9 out of 10 people we serve have their home community as being within Lakeland Region (Bonnyville, Cold Lake and St. Paul).
Who Experiences Homelessness?
There is no single type of person who experiences homelessness.
People experiencing homelessness are parents, workers, neighbours, older adults, young adults, people leaving relationships, people managing health concerns, people returning to the community after treatment or incarceration, and people who have experienced an unexpected change in their circumstances.
Some people have experienced housing instability for a long time. For others, homelessness may follow a sudden event such as a job loss, relationship breakdown, illness, eviction, family conflict or an unexpected expense.
Often, there is not one single cause.
Housing insecurity can develop when several pressures begin to overlap. A person may already be struggling with the cost of rent when their work hours are reduced. Someone may leave an unsafe relationship without having another place to live. A health concern may interrupt someone's ability to work at the same time that medical or transportation costs increase. A person leaving hospital, treatment or another system may have nowhere stable to return to.
The circumstances are different for every person.
