Investing in homes for homeless women pays off
The struggles of women living on the streets — our friends, sisters and neighbours — go largely unnoticed, not only during this week in which we mark International Women’s Day, but year-round.
Despite the centuries-long fight for equality between the sexes, women are the first to fall victim to poverty. The roof over their head is their last line of defence. Losing it is a crushing blow. While homelessness doesn’t discriminate between men and women, life on the street is far more dangerous for women. And they know it. To avoid it, women will endure abuse and domestic violence. They’ll withdraw deep inside themselves and suffer in silence rather than leave their home.
The Old Brewery Mission’s Patricia Mackenzie Pavilion in Montreal takes in nearly 550 women each year. By the time they reach our emergency services, these women are exhausted. Due to living on the margins of society for a variety of reasons — ranging from job loss to physical or mental health problems to pure bad luck — they’ve lost every shred of self-confidence they once possessed.
The homeless women who knock on our door for help are all individuals and our role is to welcome them exactly as they are, not draw hasty conclusions or adopt one-size-fits-all solutions.
Providing shelter to homeless women isn’t a solution. It’s only part of the solution. We must support them in permanently escaping the hellish downward spiral of homelessness and reclaiming their rightful place in our community. Over the last decade, the cycle of poverty, illness and isolation has been extensively documented, analyzed and justifiably lamented. Even as the number of women on the street rises, the public face of homelessness remains male.
The notion that women are immune to homelessness by virtue of their gender is anachronistic, and our society deserves better than to continue thinking that way. We need to give every woman a place in which to thrive and live her life in a sustainable, healthy and safe environment.
At the Patricia Mackenzie Pavilion, we’ve made housing the top priority. Stable and affordable housing is a gateway to counselling and other essential, life-changing programs. And guess what? It works! We’ve been able to secure housing for a large number of women, cutting the number of chronically homeless women registered for our services from 90 per cent to 10 per cent.
Based on what we’ve seen in recent years, we know that we have the power to make a real difference in the lives of the most vulnerable women in our society. If we as a society invest in finding sustainable solutions, together we can put an end to chronic homelessness in women. — Florence Portes is director, women’s services, Patricia Mackenzie Pavilion of the Old Brewery Mission.