Exiting homelessness: An examination of factors contributing to regaining and maintaining housing

Introduction

In 2022, an estimated 105,655 people used an emergency shelter, and Indigenous people were notably overrepresented among these users (Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, 2024a). Meanwhile, according to point-in-time counts from 2020 to 2022, 40,713 individuals were experiencing homelessness in shelters, unsheltered locations (including encampments) and provisional accommodations in transitional housing (Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, 2024b).

Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy is administered by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. It aims to prevent and reduce homelessness by providing funding and support directly to relevant communities. While some information is known about levels of homelessness, service uptake of emergency shelters and characteristics of homelessness experiences, Note it is useful to shine a light on what helped people experiencing homelessness secure private housing.?

This paper aims to describe previous experiences of homelessness and explore the prevalence of specific factors that led to regaining and maintaining housing. Selected housing and well-being outcomes will also be presented to highlight challenges that remain after homelessness episodes.

Key concepts and definitions

Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy defines homelessness as “the situation of an individual, family or community without stable, safe, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it” (Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, 2019). It can be differentiated based on experience, location and other factors.

Unsheltered homelessness includes people experiencing homelessness who are staying in sheltered locations or places not intended for human habitation (e.g., streets, alleys, parks and other public locations, transit stations, abandoned buildings, vehicles, ravines, and other outdoor locations).

Sheltered homelessness includes people experiencing homelessness in emergency shelters (permanent or overflow beds). This includes shelters for all population groups, shelters for specific population groups (e.g., men, women, youth or families) or situations (e.g., extreme weather or crises), and domestic violence shelters.

Hidden homelessness includes people experiencing homelessness who are staying temporarily with others (e.g., family or friends) without guarantee of continued residency or in short-term rentals with no security of tenure (e.g., paying for motels with income or savings).

Indigenous homelessness is defined by the Reaching Home framework as “Indigenous peoples who are in the state of having no home due to colonization, trauma and/or whose social, cultural, economic, and political conditions place them in poverty. Having no home includes: those who alternate between shelter and unsheltered, living on the street, couch surfing, using emergency shelters, living in unaffordable, inadequate, substandard and unsafe accommodations or living without the security of tenure; anyone regardless of age, released from facilities (such as hospitals, mental health and addiction treatment centers, prisons, transition houses), fleeing unsafe homes as a result of abuse in all its definitions, and any youth transitioning from all forms of care” (Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, 2019).

Chronic homelessness refers to persistent or long-term homelessness where people

• have been homeless for at least 180 days at some point over the course of a year (not necessarily consecutive days)
• have had recurrent episodes of homelessness over three years that total at least 18 months.

For more information, visit Reaching Home Note and the Homelessness Glossary for Communities. Note

This analysis uses data from the Canadian Housing Survey (CHS), Note which is based on a sample of private dwellings in the 10 provinces. Information collected on homelessness experiences is based on retrospective accounts from individuals who lived in private dwellings at the time of the survey. Additionally, data on homelessness experiences are collected only from the person responsible for housing decisions within their household. For this paper, statistics presented on “households” refer to the reference person responsible for making housing decisions.

One in eight reports some form of previous homelessness experience

According to the CHS, in 2022, 12.1% of households reported some form of previous homelessness experience in their lifetime. The survey also gathers information on sheltered or unsheltered experiences. In 2022, 2.6% of households reported that they had experienced an episode of sheltered or unsheltered homelessness in their lives.

The survey also asks about hidden homelessness experiences, which refers to individuals without permanent addresses who are provisionally accommodated (such as couch surfing). Hidden homelessness experiences (11.2%) were more common, while a smaller proportion of households (1.6%) reported experiences of both hidden and sheltered or unsheltered homelessness.

Indigenous households more than three times as likely to have experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness

The proportion of Indigenous people (17.5%) living below the poverty line was almost twice as large as that of the non-Indigenous population (9.6%) (Statistics Canada, 2024a), and those with homelessness experiences were also overrepresented among Indigenous people. Over one in four Indigenous households (27.3%) experienced some form of homelessness in their lifetime. Sheltered or unsheltered homelessness was experienced by 8.0% of Indigenous households, a rate more than three times higher than that of the total population (2.6%).

Four in 10 Indigenous households with a sheltered or unsheltered homelessness experience (40.5%) had their longest continuous homelessness episode last six months or more. In comparison, the rate for the total population was 37.8%.

Other population groups in which those with homelessness experiences were overrepresented included the 2SLGBTQ+Note (24.1%) and veteran (16.8%) populations. Over one in five 2SLGBTQ+ households (22.0%) had a hidden homelessness experience, and they had the highest share of hidden homelessness episodes lasting six months or more (29.3%) among the population groups Note analyzed.

Geographically, households in British Columbia (14.6%) and the Prairie provinces (14.1%) were slightly more likely than those in other regions to have some previous experience with homelessness. Note?

One size does not fit all, but financial factors help most

For the first time, the 2022 CHS asked households with homelessness experiences which factors helped them regain and maintain housing, partially addressing previous data gaps on pathways out of homelessness. Almost half (46.4%) of respondents with sheltered or unsheltered homelessness experience reported that more than one factor helped them regain and maintain housing, and nearly one-quarter (22.5%) cited three or more factors. The varying number of factors that helped many exit homelessness suggests that the needs of individuals can be multifaceted.

Data table for Chart 1

Financial factors were cited most often, contributing to 69.4% of exits from sheltered or unsheltered homelessness and 66.0% of exits from hidden homelessness. Financial factors included finding new employment or increasing employment income, securing or increasing social assistance or social welfare income, receiving financial support from friends and

Financial factors were cited most often, contributing to 69.4% of exits from sheltered or unsheltered homelessness and 66.0% of exits from hidden homelessness. Financial factors included finding new employment or increasing employment income, securing or increasing social assistance or social welfare income, receiving financial support from friends and family, and receiving financial support from other sources.

Non-financial factors accounted for 49.8% of exits from sheltered or unsheltered homelessness and 41.6% of exits from hidden homelessness. These included accessing social services, locating more affordable housing, receiving assistance from a housing agency, receiving employment or life-skills training, and receiving non-financial support from friends and family.

Access to subsidized housing (14.8%) also played a role in helping people exit sheltered or unsheltered homelessness episodes, but this factor was less often cited by those who had hidden homelessness episodes (4.7%).

Improving employment income contributes to many homelessness exits

A previous study using CHS data revealed that two in five homelessness episodes are caused by financial challenges (Statistics Canada, 2023b). At the same time, social assistance income falls short of what individuals and families require to retain housing (Kneebone and Wilkins, 2024). As a result, finding new employment or increasing employment income was the most cited factor in regaining housing after sheltered or unsheltered (39.2%) and hidden (45.9%) homelessness. Note

Data table for Chart 2

Longer durations of homelessness also call for a different mix of factors. Among those with a sheltered or unsheltered homelessness episode lasting six months or longer, 34.6% cited employment income as part of their homelessness exit (compared with 42.1% for episodes less than six months).

Overall, 41.5% of households that experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness cited non-employment-related financial factors for regaining and maintaining housing. This included 24.1% accessing supports from social assistance or social welfare income, 19.3% accessing financial supports from friends and family, and 6.4% accessing financial supports from other sources. In comparison, 33.4% of those who experienced hidden homelessness cited non-employment-related financial factors, with 9.8% accessing supports from social assistance or social welfare income, 22.9% accessing financial supports from friends and family, and 6.2% accessing financial supports from other sources.

Non-financial factors and social networks also play a role

Some known challenges for people who experience homelessness include mental health issues, addictions, relationship issues and domestic violence, and other factors beyond financial means (Statistics Canada, 2023b). Consequently, common non-financial factors cited in exits from sheltered or unsheltered homelessness were receiving support from friends and family (18.2%), locating more affordable housing (17.8%), and accessing social services (17.7%).

For many who experience hidden homelessness, having friends and family to live with temporarily during episodes of homelessness may prevent stays in shelters. Among exits from hidden homelessness, financial (22.9%) and non-financial (18.6%) support from friends and family were prevalent contributors to regaining housing.

Additionally, locating more affordable housing, which includes sharing housing expenses with roommates or a partner, was cited for 17.7% of exits from hidden homelessness, reinforcing the importance of social networks in regaining and maintaining housing for some.

Conversely, institutional interventions such as securing or increasing social assistance or social welfare income (9.8%), receiving employment or life-skills training (7.0%), receiving social services (6.3%), accessing subsidized housing (4.7%), and receiving assistance from a housing agency (2.5%) were less likely to have been contributing factors in exits from hidden homelessness. This could indicate limited need for additional supports among those experiencing hidden homelessness, but it could also point to issues with program accessibility or eligibility.

One in seven of those who experience sheltered or unsheltered homelessness access subsidized housing

While 3.9% of households lived in subsidized housing (Statistics Canada, 2022), subsidized housing was identified as an exit factor by 14.8% of those who faced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness. A lower share of those who experienced hidden homelessness accessed subsidized housing (4.7%). This may be partly because of the availability of Housing First Note? programs that target those experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness to provide immediate access to stable housing.

Women are more than twice as likely than men to exit homelessness through access to subsidized housing

While exits from sheltered or unsheltered homelessness for men Note?were predominately characterized by improvements to employment income (50.8%), exit factors identified by women Note were more diverse. For women who experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness, earning new or improved employment income (26.3%), securing or increasing social assistance or social welfare income (29.5%), and accessing subsidized housing (22.4%) were common contributing factors to regaining and maintaining housing.

Subsidized housing can serve as a bridge out of abusive relationships for many women (Khanam, 2023). As such, women (22.4%) were also more than twice as likely as men (8.0%) to cite access to subsidized housing after their sheltered or unsheltered homelessness episode.

Homeownership less likely to be attained after homelessness

While two-thirds of Canadian households own their home (Statistics Canada, 2022), homeownership is not accessible to everyone. Housing also represents the largest share of wealth for most households (Statistics Canada, 2024b), while the threat of homelessness is correlated with low or no savings or asset accumulation (Kneebone and Wilkins, 2024).

Less than one-third (31.3%) of those rehoused after experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness were homeowners in 2022. Even more than 10 years after the last homelessness episode, the homeownership rate was marginally higher (34.7%).

Conversely, ownership is more likely for those rehoused after a hidden homelessness experience, with less than half (43.9%) being homeowners. Even more than 10 years after the last homelessness episode, ownership rates (56.7%) still greatly trailed those of people with no history of homelessness (68.6%).

Table 1

Housing challenges can persist after housing is regained

Regardless of the factors contributing to regained housing, other housing challenges can persist after homelessness. Over half (51.2%) of households that had experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness lived in housing that was unaffordable, crowded or in need of major repairs. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, acceptable housing refers to housing that is affordable, adequate Note?and suitable Note?to the household’s needs. A higher proportion of households did not live in acceptable housing following a sheltered or unsheltered homelessness experience (51.2%), compared with those with hidden homelessness experiences (43.2%). Both rates were higher than for those with no previous homelessness experiences (29.0%).

The amount of time since the last homelessness episode was associated with marginally improved housing outcomes. However, even more than 10 years after the last homelessness episode, the likelihood of not living in acceptable for those with sheltered or unsheltered (48.6%) or hidden (39.9%) homelessness experiences was still higher, compared with those with no previous homelessness experiences.

Several factors, such as housing tenure type, can influence the affordability, adequacy or suitability of a home, and it is important to note that the majority (57.3%) of households with homelessness experiences are renters. Among renters with no homelessness experiences, 43.6% did not live in acceptable housing.

Table 2

Acceptable housing more likely for those who accessed subsidized housing

For some, subsidized housing may be a stepping stone toward market rent or ownership, while for others, it may provide a long-term solution for housing stability. Of those with sheltered or unsheltered homelessness experiences who accessed subsidized housing to exit homelessness, 62.7% were in subsidized housingNote? in 2022, either by circumstance or choice. This proportion of households living in subsidized housing increased to 86.6% if the last homelessness episode was within the last 10 years but dropped to 44.8% if more than 10 years had passed.

While homeownership is often associated with better housing outcomes, 37.5% of those who accessed subsidized housing to exit homelessness did not live in acceptable housing (compared with 51.2% of all sheltered or unsheltered homelessness exits). This group’s rate was closest to the 29.0% rate of those with no homelessness experiences.

High life satisfaction less likely for those who have experienced homelessness

In 2023, about half of Canadians reported a high level of life satisfaction, and Canada ranked 11th across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations (Statistics Canada, 2024c), according to the OECD’s Better Life Index. Note?

At the same time, this measure of subjective well-being was lower for those who had previously experienced homelessness, more so for those who had lived unsheltered or in shelters. Of households with previous sheltered or unsheltered homelessness experiences, 27.4% reported a high life satisfaction of 8, 9 or 10, on a 10-point scale. Those with hidden homelessness experiences (34.4%) were more likely to report a high level of life satisfaction. These rates are lower than that among those with no homelessness experiences (58.8%).

The amount of time since the last homelessness episode was associated with improved life satisfaction. After more than 10 years, the proportion of those with sheltered or unsheltered homelessness experiences who reported high life satisfaction was 29.3%, and for those with hidden homelessness experiences, the rate was 38.1%.

Table 3

Looking ahead

The CHS provides information on how Canadians feel about their housing and how housing affects them. The collection period for the fourth cycle of the CHS extends from November 2024 to March 2025. This cycle will include information on housing affordability, dwelling characteristics and housing tenure, economic hardship, dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction, housing discrimination, housing aspiration, neighbourhood issues and safety, forced moves, experience with subsidized housing, life satisfaction, community satisfaction, self-assessed health, experience with homelessness, and sociodemographic characteristics.

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada is responsible for Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. In 2025, Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time Counts will be conducted to provide new information on homelessness. Data analysis, reports and publications can be found on Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada’s website. Note?

Table 4

Table 5

Table 6

Table 7

Note to readers

This paper analyzes selected results from the third cycle of the Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) for reference year 2022. Collection for the 2022 CHS took place from October 31, 2022, to March 31, 2023, in the 10 provinces.

The CHS is a biennial survey that collects information about housing needs and experiences from a sample of Canadian households.

Coverage

Information collected on homelessness experiences is based on retrospective accounts from individuals who lived in private dwellings at the time of the survey. Individuals living in institutions, members of the Canadian Forces living in military camps, and people living on reserves and in other Indigenous settlements are excluded from the sample. Individuals living in collective dwellings such as residences (for dependent seniors, students, work camps, etc.) or communal colonies are also excluded. As a result, those who were experiencing homelessness at the time of the survey are not represented in this paper’s findings.

Additionally, data on homelessness experiences are collected only from the reference person of each household. Therefore, the homelessness experiences of other household members (e.g., a spouse or roommate not responsible for housing decisions or children of any age living with their parents) are not represented in the results.

Definitions

The CHS measures the unsheltered and sheltered homelessness experiences of respondents by asking whether they have “ever been homeless, that is, having to live in a shelter, on the street or in parks, in a makeshift shelter or in a vehicle or an abandoned building?”

The CHS measures hidden homelessness by asking whether respondents have “ever had to temporarily live with someone else (family, friends, or anyone else) because you had nowhere else to live?” Factors for regaining and maintaining housing were based on the last homelessness episode of the respondent. They could select all that apply among the following options:

• Finding new employment or increasing employment income
• Financial support from friends or family
• Securing or increasing social assistance or social welfare income
• Other sources of financial support
• Access to subsidized housing
• Locating more affordable housing (e.g., sharing housing expenses with roommates or partner, etc. Exclude subsidized housing)
• Assistance from a housing agency (e.g., pre-placement help in searching housing information, housing application or supportive services)
• Social services (such as counselling on mental health, addiction and substance use, etc.)
• Employment or life-skills training
• Non-financial support from family or friends
• Other factor.

For more information, visit the CHS. Note?Acceptable housing refers to housing that meets all three of the following standards:

• Adequate: Housing is not in need of major repairs. Major repairs include defective plumbing or electrical wiring, or structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings.?
• Suitable: There are enough bedrooms for the size and make-up of the resident households. This is according to the National Occupancy Standard Note?requirements.
• Affordable: The shelter-cost-to-income ratio is less than 30% of before-tax household income. The shelter-cost-to-income ratio refers to the proportion of the average total income of the household that is spent on shelter costs.

Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman or non?binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman).

Gender includes the following concepts:

• gender identity, which refers to the gender that a person feels internally and individually
• gender expression, which refers to the way a person presents their gender, regardless of their gender identity, through body language, aesthetic choices or accessories (e.g., clothes, hairstyle and makeup), which may have traditionally been associated with a specific gender.

A person’s gender may differ from their sex at birth, and from what is indicated on their current identification or legal documents, such as their birth certificate, passport or driver’s licence. A person’s gender may change over time. Some people may not identify with a specific gender. Given that the non-binary population is a small population, when data for the third category in this classification cannot be published in order to protect the confidentiality of responses provided by the Canadian population, people in this category are distributed in the first two categories. This redistribution is expressed by the categories “Men+” and “Women+.” “Men+” includes men and boys, as well as some non-binary people. “Women+” includes women and girls, as well as some non-binary people.

Whereas the Government of Canada adopted and encourages the use of the acronym 2SLGBTQI+ to refer to Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people and those who use other terms related to gender or sexual diversity, for the purposes of data analysis, the acronym 2SLGBTQ+ is used in this document, as information is not yet specifically collected about intersex people in Statistics Canada surveys. For this paper, responses to questions on gender, sex, and sexual orientation were used to derive 2SLGBTQ+ identification and therefore may not fully capture the complete definition.

Non-response

Rates presented in this paper excluded nonresponses from the denominator. The nonresponse rate was 0.3% (54,000 reference persons) for the question on whether the reference person experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness and 0.3% (51,020 reference persons) for the question on whether they experienced hidden homelessness. Among those who reported some homelessness experience, the nonresponse rate was 2.6% (10,260 reference persons) for the question on factors for regaining and maintaining housing for those who experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness and 23.4% (402,820 reference persons) for those who experienced hidden homelessness.