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A HOMELESS HUB RESEARCH PAPER overrepresented in the child welfare system (Brown et al. 2007). They may or may not have had a stable home to begin with, or leave their legally-appointed care (either voluntarily or involuntarily) for a variety of reasons. Farris-Manning and Zandstra (2003) attribute poverty, substance abuse, and inadequate housing to the over-representation of Aboriginal children in care of child welfare agencies. Aboriginal children represent 40 percent of all children in care, despite the fact that Aboriginal Peoples are only four to five percent of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2013). Fifth, Aboriginal young people may experience disadvantage and marginalization in unique (and perhaps more devastating) ways than non-Aboriginal youth, as one study on Aboriginal Peoples concluded “cultural discontinuity and oppression...[are] linked to high rates of depression, alcoholism, suicide, and violence in many communities, with the greatest impact on youth” (Kirmayer et al. 2000:607; also refer to the Role of Historical Trauma section for an overview of how trauma impacts young people). Furthermore, Smith et al. (2005) revealed Aboriginal Peoples often internalized the messages of cultural devaluation promoted in residential schools, which had a lasting impact on identity, beliefs, and behaviour. As a consequence, such individuals frequently suffered from low self-esteem and negative identity as an Aboriginal person. This impacted identity and belonging in future generations, as there was an active rejection of Aboriginal identity and a lack of respect for traditional beliefs and practices. Sixth, the Aboriginal population is the youngest and fastest growing segment in the Canadian population (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada 2013), with Aboriginal youth making up a much higher proportion of the overall Aboriginal population when compared to counterparts in the non-Aboriginal population (28 percent vs. 16.5 percent under 14 years of age; 18.2 percent vs.12.9 percent aged 15 to 24) (Statistics Canada 2013). Consequently, demographic data signal there may Aboriginal young people may experience disadvantage and marginalization in unique (and perhaps more devastating) ways than non-Aboriginal youth. be a substantially higher rate of youth homelessness within the Aboriginal population in the coming years (Baskin 2007). This prediction aligns with the research findings of at least one research team who revealed youth of Aboriginal descent are overrepresented within the homeless youth population in several Canadian cities (Klodawsky et al. 2006). Finally, Aboriginal Peoples are more likely to be born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The rate of FASD in Aboriginal communities can be 10 percent or higher, versus about one percent in the general population (BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information 2008). FASD can result in permanent brain damage, learning disorders, and difficulty controlling one’s temper (Public Health Agency of Canada 2005). Youths and adults with FASD are at an increased risk for drug and alcohol problems, can have difficulty keeping jobs, and can get in frequent trouble with the law (Public Health Agency of Canada 2005). These factors can limit one’s personal relationships, educational attainment, income and make it more difficult to obtain and maintain adequate housing. In fact, the Public Health Agency of Canada (2005) acknowledges that people with FASD may find themselves homeless because of these factors. By the time Aboriginal youth find themselves homeless, it is likely that many of them have survived extreme poverty, racism, unsafe or inferior living conditions, pervasive dysfunction or mental health issues in families and communities, disconnection from their birth families and/or child welfare agency placements, violence, sexual abuse or neglect to varying degrees early in life. It is also possible they have endured 33
ABORIGINAL HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA: A LITERATURE REVIEW multiple forms of such traumas (Christensen 2012, Haskell and Randall 2009, Trocmé et al. 2004). These factors place them at a great disadvantage both socially and economically as they approach adulthood. In spite of these extraordinary challenges, Aboriginal youth from a variety of backgrounds have demonstrated incredible resilience and survivorship skills. Researchers have discussed informal peer support and exchange networks that exist among street youth (Baskin 2007, Miller et al. 2004). Another research team found female Aboriginal (First Nation, Métis, and non-status) youth had profound understandings of structural injustices and they wished to minimize the effects of these being passed to their future children by reconnecting with and actively promoting Aboriginal culture (Ruttan et al. 2008), which could be considered a pathway toward homelessness prevention. Earlier research by Baskin (2007) also found Aboriginal youth attributed their homelessness to structural causes. A key article by Baskin (2007) studied the structural determinants thought to contribute to homelessness among Aboriginal youth in Toronto. This researcher attempted to gain ‘insider views’ of Aboriginal youth affected by homelessness (that is, youth who are or are at risk of becoming homeless). A strong link was found between growing up in poverty and/or involvement in the child welfare system and becoming homeless as youth. Most of these youth did not have a ‘traditional’ family according to mainstream standards, did not live with their biological parents, and were negatively affected by disruptions in their care while growing up (i.e. removed from their families and passed through child welfare agency placements). Many received care from parents who were battling substance addictions, and a great deal witnessed or experienced abuse within their biological families, adoptive homes, foster homes, or group homes. This author challenges common notions of Aboriginal youth homelessness by stating these youth usually have shelter but do not have homes. Baskin (2007:39) explains this phenomenon: Thanks to Aboriginal agencies that service youth, most of these young people are housed and have access to some health services. However, most struggle with poverty, have not completed high school, are transient, and, in the case of many female youth, are single mothers involved with child welfare who are often concerned that their children will be removed from them. This concern seems to come from a belief in the tendency for social service workers to “blame the victim” [when dealing with Aboriginal clients]. Baskin (2007) and others (Menzies 2010, 2008; Brown et al. 2007) have noted child welfare agencies have historically been a tool of Aboriginal cultural oppression in Canada, and Baskin (2007) has gone so far as to argue the present-day over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system is a continuation of this unjust colonial legacy. Many Aboriginal children have been deprived of adequate care because well-intentioned Aboriginal child welfare agencies are subject to more general federal and provincial laws and policies, which restrict Aboriginal tribal authority to manage their own affairs (Bennett et al. 2005). Brown et al. (2007:56) add, “generations of Aboriginal children who have been removed from their families by the state have not been exposed to role models that assist in the formation of healthy identities as Aboriginal peoples.” Unfortunately, homeless youth are often misrepresented as delinquents with a propensity for crime and violence in popular media. In such cases, homelessness is attributed to individual (or ‘micro’) factors such as psychological problems or personality characteristics. This phenomenon is nothing short of victim-blaming, as it individualizes structural problems and depicts these youth as undeserving of empathy or life-improving supports. Scholars have acknowledged structural (or ‘macro’) factors are by far the most influential in determining the health and well-being of at-risk youth (Higgitt et al. 2003). 34
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