Modern advancements in travel have led to an unprecedented number of pandemic outbreaks in recent years. As a global city, Toronto has been particularly affected by events such as SARS and H1N1. It is well documented that some individuals fare better than others in these kinds of crises, and that vulnerability is often rooted in pre-existing social inequities. Among the most marginalized and at-risk groups are those who are homeless and/or dependent on social services for subsistence. This chapter takes a critical look at the fragmentation of homelessness and public health services in Toronto, using a study of the H1N1 pandemic. Homelessness is often associated with negative health outcomes, but is less often recognized as being a crisis of public health. Many organizations within homelessness sectors are not designed with public health considerations in mind, meaning that clients are often in congregate settings for extended periods without adequate ventilation and disinfection practices in place. Through this chapter, I argue that the best way to prepare the homelessness sector in Toronto for a pandemic outbreak, such as H1N1, is to redesign it as an integrated public health and social care sector. This chapter examines the current barriers that prevent full public health applications in homeless agencies and reimagines an approach that foregrounds integrated care and the individual needs of service users.
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The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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About UsCanadian Observatory on Homelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
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- Introduction
- 1. Program and Service-level Collaboration
- 1.1 Coordinated Access and Assessment: Calgary, Alberta
- 1.2 Where’s the CASH (Centralized Access to Supported Housing)?: Evaluation of a Single Point of Access to Supported Housing
- 1.3 Cross-sector Case Management: Experience of EMRII, a Mixed Team Working with Homeless People
- 1.4 A Response to Homelessness in Pinellas County, Florida: An Examination of Pinellas Safe Harbor and the Challenges of Faith-based Service Providers in a Systems Approach
- 1.5 Vignette: The Bell Hotel Supportive Housing Project: Early Outcomes & Learnings
- 1.6 Vignette: 1011 Lansdowne: Turning Around a Building, Turning Around Lives
- 2. Systems Planning for Targeted Groups
- 2.1 Women First: An Analysis of a Trauma-informed, Women-centred, Harm Reduction Housing Model for Women with Complex Substance Use and Mental Health Issues
- 2.2 Service Coordination for Homeless Pregnant Women in Toronto
- 2.3 Communities of Practice as Locations for Facilitating Service Systems Improvement for Northern Homeless Women
- 2.4 Vignette: Northern Housing Networks: Collaborative Efforts to Develop Innovative Housing Programs for High-needs Indigenous Women in Northern, Remote Communities
- 2.5 Creating a Community Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in Edmonton
- 2.6 Coordination at the Service Delivery Level: The Development of a Continuum of Services for Street-involved Youth
- 2.7 Vignette: A Transdisciplinary Community Mental Health Program Providing Clinical Care to Street-involved Youth in Hamilton
- 2.8 Vignette: Youth Reconnect: Systems Prevention in a Crisis Model
- 3. Inter-sectoral collaborations
- 3.1 Preventing Youth Homelessness: The Need for a Coordinated Cross-sectoral Approach
- 3.2 A 10-Year Case Study Examining Successful Approaches and Challenges Addressing the Determinants of Homelessness: The Experiences of One Canadian City
- 3.3 Homeless In, Homeless Out and Homeless Zero: Using System Dynamics to Help End Homelessness
- 3.4 Building Research Capacity to Improve Services for the Homeless: An Integrated Community-academic Partnership Model
- 3.5 Collaborative Approaches to Addressing Homelessness in Canada: Value and Challenge in the Community Advisory Board Model
- 3.6 “What is Needed is the Mortar That Holds These Blocks Together”: Coordinating Local Services Through Community-based Managerialism
- 3.7 I’ll Tell You What I Want, What I Really, Really Want: Integrated Public Health Care for Homeless Individuals in Canada
- 3.8 Vignette: Addressing Homelessness Among Canadian Veterans
- 3.9 An Evaluation of the London Community Addiction Response Strategy (London CAReS): Facilitating Service Integration Through Collaborative Best Practices
- 4. High-level governance challenges and opportunities
- 4.1 Systems Planning and Governance: A Conceptual Framework
- 4.2 The Strategic Response to Homelessness in Finland: Exploring Innovation and Coordination within a National Plan to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness
- 4.3 A Critical Review of Canadian First Nations and Aboriginal Housing Policy, 1867 - Present
- 4.4 Interagency Councils on Homelessness: Case Studies from the United States and Alberta
- 4.5 System Planning: A Case Study of the Calgary Homeless Foundation’s System Planning Framework
- 4.6 The “First City to End Homelessness”: A Case Study of Medicine Hat’s Approach to System Planning in a Housing First Context
- Conclusion
- Exploring Effective Systems Responses to Homelessness
- 3. Inter-sectoral collaborations
- 3.7 I’ll Tell You What I Want, What I Really, Really Want: Integrated Public Health Care for Homeless Individuals in Canada