Prevention requires an integrated systems approach, where each category works in union with one another. Moreover, each of the five categories has implications for primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, as outlined here. The classifications are not discreet; homelessness prevention requires an increased level of coordination between all levels of government, collaboration between systems and institutions, and cooperation at the community level. The typology is as follows:

1. Structural Prevention

Working upstream to address the causes of homelessness

Structural prevention involves legislation, policy, and investment that build assets and increase social inclusion and equality. 

A prime example of structural prevention is considering homelessness among Indigenous Peoples. It's a consequence of Canada’s brutal colonial history and ongoing structural issues and policies that marginalize Indigenous Peoples. Forced removal from ancestral lands and oppressive government policies have rendered Indigenous Peoples homeless, or perhaps more accurately, houseless on their own lands. These historical factors continue to impact Indigenous Peoples and require comprehensive redress.

Additional examples of structural prevention include:

• Increasing the supply and access to deeply affordable housing that is safe, in good repair and appropriate for youth.
• Providing benefits to strengthen families’ resilience to economic challenges.
• Poverty reduction and income equity.
• Address structural factors that perpetuate race-based inequities, racism and discrimination.
• Breaking the link between migration, displacement and homelessness.
• Promoting social inclusion for all.
• Preventing adverse childhood experiences.
• Implementing homelessness prevention legislation, policy and practice.

2. Systems Prevention

Transforming public systems to support homelessness prevention

Many public systems contribute to homelessness, including child protection, healthcare, the justice system, family supports, and education. Negative experiences and system gaps can increase the risk of homelessness. To prevent homelessness, we must address institutional and system failures.

Systems barriers and failures

Policies and procedures sometimes hinder individuals and communities from accessing the support needed to stabilize their housing. Insufficient funding for essential services can leave people without adequate housing. Systemic discrimination, language barriers, transportation issues, and citizenship requirements are examples of limitations that can hinder access to housing support.

The prevention of Indigenous homelessness requires addressing systemic discrimination within public services. For instance, many Indigenous Peoples avoid healthcare due to discrimination and neglect experienced personally or by family and friends.

Age is also a key factor in systems discrimination. Age thresholds determine which services, programs, and entitlements are available to youth. Being under 16 limits access to homelessness services, mental health and substance use supports, housing, and lease agreements. Similarly, turning 18 results in significant changes in legal, financial, and personal rights and responsibilities. Age markers shape what support and programs young people can access, and how they access them. This means that systems prevention for youth differs from adults and varies depending on age and other factors.

Transition supports for exiting public systems

Homelessness is often driven by the lack of transitional planning and support for individuals leaving public systems. 

For youth, research shows that young people leaving public institutions or systems are at higher risk of homelessness. They often lack control over when they exit, and this transition doesn't consider their developmental needs or the cost of housing. This results in housing instability, poverty, and challenges in reintegrating into the community. Youth leaving child protection face significant challenges as they transition out.

Examples of systems prevention initiatives include:

• Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care. Co-led by the Child Welfare League of Canada, the National Council of Youth in Care, and youth with lived experience of child protection and homelessness, this document outlines 8 comprehensive standards for governments and service providers to follow. These standards aim to ensure that the transition to adulthood is healthy and well-supported for youth in care.

• Reforming child protection legislation and policy to better support youth. The Province of British Columbia’s Ministry of Children and Family Development and Indigenous Child and Family Service which introduced its “Strengthening Abilities and Journeys of Empowerment” program in 2023. The legislation provides a broad range of supports for youth leaving care up to their 27th birthday.

• Community-based interventions to enhance connections between young people and caring adults in their lives. StepStones for Youth in Toronto offers a program called Building Connections, which focuses on supporting youth exiting care unconditionally “in developing a strong network of caring people that they can depend on for life”.

• Indigenous approaches to transitions from care. Preventing youth homelessness involves providing culturally appropriate family and community support for Indigenous Peoples. The Omamoo Wango Gamik Program in Edmonton, operated by NiGiNan Housing Ventures, supports Indigenous youth leaving care by reuniting families and creating a sense of community for residents who lack strong family connections.

3. Early Intervention

Preventing new cases of homelessness

Early intervention requires policies and practices to support individuals and families at imminent risk of homelessness or who have recently become homeless.

Early intervention for youth homelessness prevention

Early intervention for youth homelessness prevention must start by focusing on early detection, followed by addressing the need for safe and stable housing, as well as the physical, emotional, material, interpersonal, social, and educational needs of young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. 

Importantly, early interventions should involve the youth along with their family and natural supports as youth homelessness often stems from unresolved conflicts within the family or with caregivers. It is important to consider the early signs of distress and support needs of young people, which may otherwise go unnoticed.

Recognizing that many youth experience homelessness before the age of 16 and have complex support needs, early interventions should aim to respond much earlier, such as during middle school years (ages 13-15). 

Lastly, an integrated approach involving all systems that young people may be involved with (e.g., education, health care, employment services, and the criminal justice system) is necessary. This cross-system approach, known as a 'system of care,' requires intentional integration of multiple systems to address the diverse needs and circumstances of youth and their families.

In practice, early interventions should offer youth and their families assistance in navigating systems, asserting their rights, and accessing the support they are eligible for.

Examples of early intervention prevention initiatives include:

• Family and Natural Supports (FNS): The FNS approach emphasizes the importance of relationships for youth as the foundation for personal well-being and thriving. It can guide interventions across different levels, from policy frameworks at the systems and structural level, to tertiary programs like Housing First for Youth.

• Eviction Prevention encompasses a variety of services aimed at helping individuals and families stay in their homes. These services can be offered in any community with rental housing. They may include mediation between landlords and tenants, creating plans to pay overdue rent, offering legal advice and representation at landlord-tenant hearings, providing housing education, teaching homemaking skills, and offering crisis support to those facing imminent eviction.

• School-Engaged Early Intervention: School-community partnerships are key in preventing youth homelessness. These partnerships involve community-based services working with schools to identify at-risk youth and provide support. This approach, pioneered in Australia, is now being applied in Canada through programs such as Upstream Canada and Reconnect, which has been adapted to an Indigenous-led approach called NYA-WHE, operated by Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg.

4. Crisis Prevention

Helping people to exit homelessness as soon as possible

Crisis prevention includes policies, interventions, and practices that support those at risk of becoming trapped in long-term or episodic homelessness. Many people who are new to homelessness are able to resolve the situation independently or with minimal support. The goal is to help individuals and families exit homelessness as quickly as possible with adequate and culturally appropriate housing and supports to prevent a return to homelessness.

The design and implementation of crisis prevention initiatives must:

• Incorporate a family and natural supports approach for youth as a key competency for service provision.
• Provide access to a range of housing options that are safe, affordable, appropriate and permanent housing options, including living with (chosen) family.
• Minimize the duration of engagement with emergency services, such as shelters.
• Identify who is most likely to transition to long-term homelessness and target additional supports for this group.
• Implement data systems designed to support the implementation of homelessness prevention and to effectively track outcomes.
• Implement accountability measures to ensure that diversion efforts do not result in individuals being discharged into unsheltered homelessness.
• Work with community members and people with lived expertise to ensure models of support are culturally appropriate.

Examples of crisis prevention initiatives include:

• Shelter Diversion is one of the most common approaches to crisis prevention. It aims to assist individuals who show up at an emergency homelessness shelter in finding alternative accommodation in the community, thereby avoiding becoming entrenched in the homelessness system.
  
• Rapid Rehousing is a short-term, housing-focused intervention aimed at helping individuals and families swiftly exit homelessness and return to housing in their community. The program includes assistance with finding and securing housing, temporary rental support, assistance with the moving process, and personalized case management and support services to meet the specific needs of each individual or family.

• Duty to Assist is a crisis prevention approach that was developed in Wales supported by the Housing (Wales) Act, 2014, and made access to homelessness prevention services a universal right. The legislation requires local authorities to offer assistance to an individual or family facing homelessness within 14 days. If accepted, authorities must remedy the situation within 56 days, providing accommodation for the next six months that is not in a homeless shelter. Access to prevention services is a right for everyone facing homelessness, not just those who have been homeless for a long time.

• Host Homes provides young people experiencing homelessness with short-term accommodation in a safe place with a host individual or family in their community, and access to support. 

• Direct Cash Transfers involve providing a one-time start-up grant and/or ongoing monthly cash payments to youth based on the cost of living in the community. Local community-based organizations also offer services such as housing navigation, financial counselling, and peer support.

5. Housing Stabilization

Preventing returns to homelessness

Housing stabilization is a form of tertiary prevention that involves helping people who have experienced homelessness to quickly exit that situation with necessary supports to prevent cycling back into homelessness. 

Prolonged exposure to homelessness can have detrimental effects on a person's health and well-being, and without stable housing, they may face declines in physical and mental health, increased vulnerability, trauma, victimization, and substance use. Even after exiting homelessness, they may struggle with long-term housing stability. 

Housing stabilization aims to improve outcomes in various areas of people's lives impacted by homelessness, including health, well-being, social inclusion, education, and employment. It's crucial to design interventions that make the path out of homelessness easier by providing meaningful supports beyond just housing.

Examples of housing stabilization initiatives include:

• Housing First: An evidence-based program designed to provide immediate access to permanent housing for individuals with mental illness and addiction who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Participants receive support aimed at promoting housing stability, recovery, and community integration. The program offers rent supplements and support services without time limits or pre-conditions.
• Housing First for Youth (HF4Y): Adapted from Housing First, HF4Y is a rights-based intervention for youth aged 16-24 who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. HF4Y provides immediate access to housing without preconditions and offers a range of wrap-around supports designed to enhance housing stabilization and reduce the chances of them becoming homeless again.
• The Housing Outreach Program – Collaboration (HOP-C): HOP-C addresses the issue of youth not receiving adequate support as they try to transition out of homelessness. The program is based on the belief that while housing is essential, it alone is not enough to ensure that young people exiting homelessness can maintain housing and thrive in other aspects of life.