Homelessness Report for Sociology/Anthropology/Psychology Class

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Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to investigate who is responsible for the state of homelessness and what can be done to prevent homelessness in the future. Background: On July 9th, 2008, The Ottawa Citizen published an article about the death of André Hamel, a homeless man who was an habitué of O’Connor Street in downtown Ottawa. Mr. Hamel had been with his dog, Muff, and two friends, Guy Vaillant and Roger Gauthier, in Sandy Hill when he suffered a heart attack. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, fell into a coma, and died Friday morning. On the side of O’Connor Street, flowers, cards, notes and dog treats for Muff overflowed the sidewalk. This shrine was created by the people who knew Mr. Hamel, the man they saw every day on their way to work for years. They all remembered him for his friendliness and positivity and how he never begged for money. His faithful dog Muff was taken by Darryl Dempsey, another man who lived on the street who was looking to enroll in a social-work program at Algonquin College. A memorial was held on the 10th of July at 11am by the benches on Mackenzie-King Bridge for Mr. Hamel. Findings: June 19th, 2013 CBC News: - 30, 000 Canadians are homeless every night. - 200, 000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year. - 150, 000 Canadians a year use a homeless shelter at some point. - Single adult males between the ages of 25 and 55 account for almost half of the homeless population. - 20% of the homeless are 16-24 years old (about 6, 000). - People can be pushed into homelessness by a variety of factors: loss of job, mental illness, addictions, family violence or abuse, extreme poverty. - Changes in the economy and in the housing market are adding to homelessness. - Declining incomes + reduction in social benefits + decline in affordable housing = even more homelessness. - Aboriginal people
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