These days, every news channel you encounter is covering some aspect of the COVID-19 vaccine. One interesting but controversial topic is who should be given priority. On February 2, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness and Canadian Network for the Health and Housing released a joint statement, advocating to prioritize COVID-19 immunization for people experiencing homelessness1. Should the homeless be given priority to the COVID-19 vaccine? For a plethora of reasons, the answer to this question should be an enthusiastic “yes”. The following will inform and inspire you to agree!  

Vaccines have always worked; they currently work and will continue to work as science advances. To date, almost 250 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. All Canadian provinces have started immunizing the priority populations. According to the Canadian government website, priority populations include adults of 70 years and above, health care workers and indigenous communities2. As important as it is to vaccinate these vulnerable demographics, the homeless population and shelter residents must also be included as a priority group. In fact, Montreal started the movement in mid-January to administer 500 doses to the homeless3. While the doses were limited, this initiated a movement across other provinces: Toronto, and later Vancouver, to consider and vaccinate their homeless citizens 4,5. But, how about the province of Alberta and more specifically, the City of Edmonton? Before getting to that, let us consider why supplying the homeless with the COVID-19 vaccine is crucial.

A key recent study in Toronto found that the homeless individuals, compared to the general population, were 20 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19; more than 10 times more likely to require intensive care; and over 5 times more likely to die from COVID-196. It is shocking and deeply concerning to reflect on these staggering statistics.  Perhaps even more surprisingly, it becomes apparent within the long-standing scientific literature that homelessness dramatically increases a person’s exposure to infectious diseases. For example, North American studies report the prevalence of hepatitis-B up to 13% in homeless youth compared to 0.8% in the general population7. Another example is HIV, where its prevalence is about 6% in homeless youth compared to 0.3% in young adults7. While the routes of transmission for these viruses are different, the rates of respiratory diseases that transmit similar to COVID-19 (e.g. influenza) are also higher in the homeless population8. 

You may wonder why homeless people are at high risk of exposure to infectious diseases. This is a multifactorial problem that may be specific to each disease. Generally, one important reason is that homelessness is associated with a number of chronic diseases that are usually left untreated and increase the chance of getting an infection. For instance, many homeless people present with heart, lung or kidney disease, asthma and certain underlying immunologic diseases such as cancer8. These all increase the likelihood of hospitalization and death following an infectious disease. Another reason is that many shelters are overcrowded which makes it easier for the virus to jump from one person to another. So, if we knew all this, why did we not prioritize the homeless population’s access to get the COVID-19 vaccines? 

Immunization for the homeless is difficult. One challenge is the lack of accessible health care resources. Even though most vaccines are free of cost in Canada, systematic barriers still exist. For example, those that live without a fixed address and proper identification documents have a hard time receiving care in some Canadian health care settings7. Other related issues include lack of consistency in vaccine eligibility knowledge and irregular vaccination policies among the homeless youth7. Poor access to health care ultimately translates into missed opportunities for vaccination, and it is also associated with distrust of the healthcare system and providers. Importantly, homeless people that have never encountered healthcare settings, or have never felt included in personal healthcare decisions are much less willing to receive care and trust physicians8. Another factor is that some homeless individuals may feel that healthcare providers lack compassion for the homeless. Finally, there is the issue of vaccination resistance. There are two types of vaccination resistances: intentional non-adherence, as in actively not accepting vaccination; and unintentional nonadherence, a passive process that leads to not getting vaccinated such as forgetfulness, scheduling conflicts or lack of knowledge about vaccine efficacy and safety9. Homeless individuals often exhibit the latter form of vaccination resistance as a result of the poor accessibility to receive vaccination information8,9. An accessible and effective education about vaccination safety and efficacy may help a great deal in addressing unintentional non-adherence in the homeless population. These challenges collectively make vaccination difficult and costly in this population. Considering all these difficulties, it is still possible to implement successful immunization programs when healthcare providers address these challenges in this vulnerable population. 

There have been a few successful immunization programs in the homeless population. To give an example, in a large study conducted in Vancouver, 8723 individuals were immunized in an influenza/pneumococcal vaccination campaign and 3,542 were vaccinated for hepatitis-A and -B10. While it is not clear how many of these people were homeless, the targeted Vancouver area was estimated to have a large number of people living on the streets. Importantly, the vaccines were administered using outreach in a non-traditional setting, “vaccination blitz”. This meant that public health nurses and volunteers would visit different sites within the targeted area and vaccinate as many people as they could. This strategy turned out to be a great success as compared to traditional hospital vaccination programs: a lot of people participated. Preliminary results from the study showed that the rates of hepatitis-A infections and the number of hospital visits due to pneumonia decreased in the 3 months following the blitz10. Interestingly, COVID-19 vaccination blitz programs are currently underway in the United States (e.g. Chicago)11. Vaccination in non-traditional settings has proven to be effective mainly because it increases the accessibility of vaccines, decreases distrust of the healthcare setting and reduces vaccine resistance8,10. Canada and Edmonton could use such methods to deliver vaccines to the low-income neighbours within the homeless community. Prime Edmonton locations might be tent city or the neighborhood surrounding the coliseum. 

On February 19, the government of Alberta released a plan for phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccination which will take place from April to September12. The homeless and residents of shelters are in group C after group A (e.g. elderly and indigeous Albertans) and group B (those with underlying health conditions). While this step taken by the Alberta government is a good start, immunization of the homeless should have been initiated earlier similar to other Canadian provinces. In addition, no clear timeline has been given for when each group will be vaccinated, and group C will be vaccinated only after groups A and B are completed. Perhaps most surprising of all is that homeless individuals are not included in group B, while it is known that a large proportion have underlying health conditions that are untreated. It is also important to note that Alberta is currently facing a vaccine shortage, shipment issues and under-funding for healthcare. Nevertheless, the living conditions of people living on the streets is unacceptable and requires immediate attention. The homeless are readily exposed to the virus and in grave danger of suffering from its consequences. We must demand better health care for this highly vulnerable population.

While you may have little power to directly change the plans of our government, I know we can all play our part and do better to provide support and care for the homeless. Actions to achieve this can be as simple as educating yourself and the people around you by spreading awareness about increasing accessibility of vaccination for the homeless. I encourage you to have a look at the resources I have listed below to more deeply inform yourself on this important issue. 

Additional Information:

Track COVID-19 Vaccines Worldwide: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

COVID-19 Vaccines in Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-industry/drugs-vaccines-treatments/vaccines.html

Alberta COVID-19 vaccination plan: https://www.alberta.ca/covid19-vaccine.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=sem&utm_campaign=Covid19&utm_term=Vaccine&utm_content=v1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-OeBBhDiARIsADyBcE7zobONx0ljacgmSnDrhP2zZGNtMg47N98G2CIq51yoh9Yd0qC-zmcaAraBEALw_wcB

CDC’s frequently asked questions – COVID-19 vaccination in the homeless population: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/homeless-shelters/vaccine-faqs.html

Key Advocacy/Research Groups to Follow and Support:

Canadian Network for the Health and Housing:  http://cnh3.ca

Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness: https://caeh.ca

Dr. Stephen Hwang Research Team (world renowned Canadian scientist addressing homelessness and health) http://stmichaelshospitalresearch.ca/researchers/stephen-hwang

Science Up First (addressing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines): https://www.scienceupfirst.com

Works Cited

1. “STATEMENT: prioritize vaccinations for people experiencing homelessness, Canadian Network for the Health and Housing, 2 Feb. 2021, http://cnh3.ca/prioritize-vaccinations/
2. “Vaccines and treatments for COVID-19: vaccine rollout”, Government of Canada, 25 Feb. 2021, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/covid-19-vaccine-treatment/vaccine-rollout.html
3. “Montreal to begin vaccinating homeless population after spike in COVID-19 cases”, Montreal, CBC News, 13 Jan. 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-homeless-vaccination-quebec-1.5871668
4. “City of Toronto and partners start COVID-19 vaccination pilots for people experiencing homelessness and frontline workers in select shelters”, City of Toronto, 18 Jan. 2021, https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-and-partners-start-covid-19-vaccination-pilots-for-people-experiencing-homelessness-and-frontline-workers-in-select-shelters/
5. “Vancouver health authority rolls out COVID-19 vaccine on downtown eastside”, CBC British Columbia, 30 Jan. 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-health-authority-rolls-out-covid-19-vaccine-on-downtown-eastside-1.5895158
6. Richard, Lucie, et al. “Testing, infection and complication rates of COVID-19 among people with a recent history of homelessness in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective cohort study”. CMAJ Open. vol 9, no 1, 2021, E1-E9
7. Doroshenko, Alexander et al. “Challenges to immunization: the experiences of homeless youth.” BMC public health. vol 12, no 338, 2012
8. Beers L, et al. “Increasing influenza vaccination acceptance in the homeless: A quality improvement project”. Nurse Pract. vol 44, no 11, 2019, 48-54 
9. Gadkari, Abhijit S, and Colleen A McHorney. “Unintentional non-adherence to chronic prescription medications: how unintentional is it really?.” BMC Health Services Research. vol 12, no 98. 2012
10. Weatherill, Shelagh A., et al. “Immunization Programs in Non-Traditional Settings.” Canadian Journal of Public Health”, vol 95, no. 2, 2004, 133–137
11. “Chicago Targets 15 Hard-Hit Communities For A Vaccination Blitz To Fight Disparities”, WBEZ Chicago, 17 Feb. 2021, https://www.wbez.org/stories/chicago-targets-15-hard-hit-communities-for-a-vaccination-blitz-to-fight-disparities/86b224d5-21dc-4914-936b-bd64d8c93855
12. “Alberta premier announces priority list for second round of COVID-19 vaccinations”, The Star, 19 Feb. 2021, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/02/19/residents-in-long-term-care-supportive-living-fully-vaccinated-alberta-premier.html
13. “Alberta announces details about Phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccine rollout”. Global News. 19 Feb. 2021, https://globalnews.ca/video/7651379/alberta-announces-details-about-phase-2-of-covid-19-vaccine-rollout

Written by: Amir Ali Adel

Edited by: Jane Porter

Through researching domestic violence and homelessness, I sought out a second shelter for insight on how these conditions affect cultural and religious minorities. In this blog, I had the privilege of engaging with Nisa Homes, where I spoke with a caseworker named Majeda. Majeda started by explaining how her role at the home was to work one on one with the incoming women, primarily regarding client referrals, and administration. Being a caseworker, Majeda is the one to receive the initial calls from women in need, and in a way, she is the bridge to the safe haven that is Nisa Homes for women.

In Canada, approximately 27.3% of all homeless individuals are women (State of Homelessness in Canada, 2016). In addition to this,  women of colour, and more specifically minorities, whether by race, disability, age, or household status, are at higher risks for poverty. According to Homeless Hub, 37% of all First Nations women (living off reserves), 28% of all visible minority women, and 33% of all women with disabilities in Canada, are threatened with poverty and face a greater risk for homelessness than their white female counterparts. Rates of homelessness are increased amongst minority women due to factors such as cultural or religious stigma resulting from domestic violence, social pressures, and citizenship concerns. 

Majeda began by discussing how the first day at the home is always the hardest and busiest. With the pandemic, Nisa Homes had to increase their safety measures – ensuring to conduct test questionnaires, requesting that all new residents take a shower, wash all articles of clothing, and sanitize any other products they brought with them upon arrival. What makes Nisa Homes special is that they cater specifically to Muslim women, ensuring to accommodate to their fellow sisters in cultural and religious aspects. This is especially important as cultural stigma prevents many women of colour experiencing domestic violence from coming forward. Those who are considering leaving their partner must also consider the keen judgments they would face in their cultural or religious communities.

An interesting point Majeda made was that immigrant and refugee women were at an unfair disadvantage amid the pandemic, as they had to endure greater financial issues as a result of their citizenship status. Many refugee women who wished to apply for some form of status during quarantine were limited by the government’s shutdown of services. Due to their lack of citizenship, the women were also unable to apply for income support, and Majeda explained that even with the women who were able to successfully apply, they had to wait a minimum of one week to be approved before funding would be received. The delays, and excessive difficulty in finding stable housing following their departure from a toxic household or partner, definitely impacted the women’s decisions who were coming into the home. Refugee women were faced with a global virus, limited means of getting citizenship, a lack of financial resources, and no means of travelling due to restrictions. These are circumstances that many of us do not consider during such a trying time despite them holding great significance all across Canada. “Barriers built up more and more” Majeda started, explaining how they feared that the women would become a name on a never ending wait list to the government. 

Majeda expressed that one positive outcome caused by the pandemic for Nisa Homes, was that the organization was finally able to receive government funding! As a newly started charitable organization with several branches across Canada, it is difficult for them to receive funding for their cause, yet fortunately due to nationwide recovery support, Nisa Homes was able to accrue financial resources, allowing them to better help women at the home and save up money for future endeavors. Prior to these support funds, the majority of their funding was to be acquired through one organized holiday dinner, during the month of Ramadan. With the pandemic, community outreach had increased and Majeda expressed her appreciation for this, exclaiming “people are very very kind, especially [within] the Edmonton community.”   Another positive outcome Majeda informed me of was that since March, the home has had zero positive cases! When asked about what the situation was like in March, Majeda stressed how she received at least double the amount of phone calls during the first few weeks, indicating an increase in the rates of domestic violence and/or homelessness. In dealing with potential cases, Majeda explained that money was set aside should anyone at the home test positive and need to quarantine separately in a hotel.  

Nisa Homes’ is willing to take both homeless women and women who are fleeing domestic violence and needing shelter, highlighting their accessibility. Following the women’s departure, the caseworkers reach out to women who’ve stayed at the shelter for approximately three months following to inquire about their progress and reassure them of their growth. Majeda expresses how caseworkers take pride in building long term relationships with the women, and that former women still message her to this day. Should women need resources after departure, Nisa Homes privately conducts community call outs across their social media, and will supply the women with resources (Food hampers, gift cards, etc.) Majeda says that the home is always open to women who need to return, stating: “They might be in a worse situation when they leave this time than [when they did] last time.” Remote help is also available at NISA Homes, for women who are unsure of their needs and uncertain if they are ready to stay at the home, but still want to receive some form of support from other Muslim women. The pandemic has certainly increased the amount of remote case files, as well as referrals, to assist in the high demand. What saddened me was when Majeda stated, “Some [women] are in denial, but they still want help”, referring to those who may make the initial phone call, but for any given reason, may not be able to come to the home themselves.

When Majeda was asked if she was willing to share a story, she politely agreed and recalled one woman who, when she first reached out, could barely talk on the phone, and for weeks could not get out of bed. She explained to me that slowly, through small steps, she “got on her feet and hit the ground running”, starting her own business in the shelter’s garage! I found this to be quite admirable, and a very clear example of how Nisa Homes helps women feel empowered.  

The last question that I asked Majeda, similarly to the previous womens’ shelter coordinator was,  “What would you say to women struggling to come forward?” to which, she responded with the following: 

“It takes a lot of courage, yes it’s scary, yes it’s a jump into the unknown: but if you’re in danger, every moment of anxiety and fear is worth it, because the second you leave, you give yourself the power to do anything. You’ll have more support [when you break through] than you’ll ever know. No one here can judge you.”  (Majeda)

Volunteering for and vocalizing the needs of marginalized groups is essential, especially with homelessness and poverty being such prominent issues in Canada. Through speaking with Majeda and the coordinator, I learned a lot about the internal roles of these organizations, and I encourage others to reach out to charitable organizations and read articles on these issues to do the same. One student-led womens’ group on campus that directly works with Nisa Homes to further their initiative, is the newly created Women Empowering Women group on campus, for example. Although not everyone may have the means to donate, what’s important is speaking up and spreading the message across to reach those that do. After all, when you have more than you need, you should aim to build a bigger table, not a higher fence. Attached below is a list of resources: with articles, both organizations and clubs featured today, and websites for aid, of which I encourage you to utilize in learning more! 

Resources 

https://www.wingsofprovidence.ca/

Find Help Across Canada

https://theseed.ca/

Student Groups 

https://instagram.com/girltogirlyweg/

Articles 

https://www.feministrecovery.ca/the-plan

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-increases-risk-for-canada-s-invisible-homeless-women-study-1.5000474

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/08/9941797/covid-homeless-women-mothers-children-risk

Works Cited

Nisa Homes. 2015. What is Nisa Homes? Nisa Homes. Retrieved from https://www.nisahomes.com/aboutus

WINGS of Providence. 2020. Who we are. WINGS of Providence. Retrieved from https://www.wingsofprovidence.ca/who-we-are.aspx

Ali, Nadia. October 2016. Domestic Violence & Homelessness. The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness: Homeless Hub. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/domestic-violence-homelessness

World Health Organization. November 2017. Violence against women. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women#:~:text=Global%20estimates%20published%20by%20WHO,violence%20is%20intimate%20partner%20violence.

Canadian Women’s Foundation. February 2018. The Facts about Gender-Based Violence. Canadian Women’s Foundation. Retrieved from https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/gender-based-violence/#:~:text=Half%20of%20all%20women%20in,since%20the%20age%20of%2016.&text=67%25%20of%20Canadians%20say%20they,experienced%20physical%20or%20sexual%20abuse.&text=3-,Approximately%20every%20six%20days%2C%20a%20woman%20in%20Canada,killed%20by%20her%20intimate%20partner.

Homeless Hub. 2019. Single Women. About Homelessness. Homeless Hub. Retrieved from  https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/population-specific/single-women
Homeless Hub. 2019. Who is Homeless? About Homelessness. Homeless Hub. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/who-homeless

Written by: Sara Assaf

Edited by: Erica Kim and Anson Wong

Part one of a series exploring how COVID-19 has worsened disparities amongst homeless minorities. 

        As often as we’d like to imagine “when this is all over”, we must admit that there is privilege in such a hopeful sentiment; the pretence that aside from the temporary health measures and minor inconveniences we’ve had to face, that the general aspects of our lives will soon return to their objective normal, is rooted in privilege and to an extent, misinformation. Economic decline, increased unemployment rates and shortages across the nation have all led to increased rates of homelessness, a condition that has unfortunately worsened in Canada and is found to have impacted minorities disproportionately. Today I shall discuss how the pandemic has disportionately impacted homeless women in Canada, who not only face oppression by class, but must also endure oppression by gender, as a result of the domestic violence that drives women out of their homes, threatening their survival. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in every 3 women will experience domestic abuse or violence at least once in their lifetime, and according to the Canadian Women’s foundation, on any given night in Canada, 3,491 women and their 2,724 children, must sleep in shelters because they face risks in their own homes.  This, combined with the 70% of spousal violence that is not reported to the police (Canadian Women’s Foundation, 2018), makes it instinctively clear that the rates of family and gender based violence greatly impact the percentage of women who are a part of Canada’s homeless population today. To better understand the conditions these women must face, I sought out the leaders of two local long term women’s’ homeless shelters: WINGS of Providence, and Nisa Homes, both of which specialize in providing quality care and programming to women who have faced homelessness, domestic violence and food insecurity. In today’s blog, reflection will take place primarily through utilizing the WINGS’ coordinator’s experiences. 

      I first interviewed the program coordinator at WINGS, who informed me of their mandate to “accept women with children who are leaving intimate partner abuse” as a second stage shelter organization. The shelter itself offers many services to women, housing wise; there are multiple apartments available, each equipped with security services on site. WINGS’ offers group programming, community referrals and counselling to support victims, and focuses on promoting the womens’ personal growth.  When the pandemic was first announced in North America, WINGS was forced to suspend all programs and suddenly was faced with providing aid during a nationwide shortage. While allocating resources was difficult, when asked about what she found to be the biggest issue women must face at the shelters, the coordinator exclaimed that it was dealing with their new terms of isolation that caused the women the most dread. Employees and clients were constantly concerned about who was going to get sick and how fast, with the striking fear of death in their minds as they pondered “what was this gonna mean?” for the future. She identified how women experiencing domestic violence now had to make the difficult decision of choosing between permanently leaving their households – with a heightened fear for their safety and financial stability due to the pandemic, or to alternatively stay where they were and endure abuse in silence. This is not to mention the risks some women have to take to even make the first step of leaving, and the chance that, should they have to return for any reason, they face the threat of being punished for their decision. Often, victims of domestic violence struggle to come forward and have difficulty recognizing patterns of abuse for a multitude of factors. They may choose not to leave based on their children, cultural stigma, financial risks, or simply their own denial. “It’s not as easy as packing a suitcase,” the coordinator starts, “it takes a lot of guts, courage and strength” she continues, emphasizing how important it is to WINGS, to provide women with the right support in handling their situations, especially amidst the virus.

            The coordinator stressed that the lack of services available and increased quarantining were seen as imminent threats to the shelter, especially in terms of maintaining stable mental health. She expanded on isolation in explaining how many women felt stuck and even began to resent the shelter, as they were starting to become psychologically affected by the quarantine. The coordinator however, while saddened by the “new normal” the women had to face, wanted to assure them that despite their panic, “We are still here” – that the organization would continue to help women in their time of need. While there were a large portion of staff working remotely, many of the employees, including herself, have remained onsite since March, exhibiting a clear commitment to sustain their mandate. Regular check-ins were conducted to ensure the well being of the women. Aside from the government mandated precautions, WINGS was limiting their group work, increasing individual care, and hosting online events as much as possible. As the WINGS’ shelter consists of a series of apartments,  should they show symptoms or test positive, the women were asked to quarantine independently in their own units.

     An interesting claim made by the coordinator was that the organization actually experienced reduced rates of incoming women, resulting from the unawareness of the availability of their services. With the abundance of children now staying with WINGS, the shift to online learning in schools meant that WINGS’ had to purchase new devices in order to satisfy learning needs. When group interactions were permitted, the WINGS staff began to host group events, holding pizza nights and providing families with craft and care packages to engage with their children. They even brought in the Easter Bunny to lift the childrens’ spirits.  The coordinator explained that with the shut down, all fundraising events had to stop and the main donors of the shelter no longer had the financial means necessary to support WINGS. This resulted in mass community outreaches, in order to meet the growing demand and inflation in necessities for women. “I love Edmonton, we have good friends.” The coordinator expressed her gratitude for local support towards the shelter. With the help of the local community, WINGS’ was able to stay running and meet the increasing demand.

    Although WINGS’ as a shelter does not tend to take in homeless women, they recognize that homelessness and domestic violence are not mutually exclusive. WINGS prioritizes womens’ safety, and with an increase in domestic violence cases with isolation, the coordinator admits that at times they did have to redirect women to other shelters, but reassured me that they “Never left them hanging.” They partnered with other organizations to accommodate the consistent transfers, and provided women with viable alternatives and resources for support. In the case that they cannot help someone directly, they ensure to redirect them to available organizations and find someone that can.   

   With COVID-19, the average women’s stay of six months at the shelter was now increased to a year, resulting from the difficulty to find stable housing or established real estate services. A positive outcome of this was that the women and WINGS’ employees built stronger relationships, and had more time to rehabilitate and heal. Following their departure, the staff at WINGS bid the women farewell and assume they have stable supports in place to independently embark on future endeavours. When asked if WINGS’ as an organization had any stories they recall from the women staying with them, the coordinator made sure to direct me to their website, where there are newsletters with testimonies available for public use. The last question I asked was “What would you say to women struggling to come forward?” to which, she responded: 

“Reach out, there is help, we are here, you don’t have to stay away, we all need help, healthy people do..we all need to tell our stories” (WINGS)

     WINGS’ accepts volunteers throughout the year, and more information may be found on their linked website. Another way to get involved is to volunteer with local organizations, such as the YWCA, Girl to Girl YWEG (Young Women’s’ Empowerment Group), or the Womens’ Emergency Accommodation Centre (WEAC) in Edmonton, who all aim to reduce the disparities faced locally by women. 

     Volunteering for charitable organizations and donating to shelters are essential actions valuable to reducing disparities among women who face homelessness. Feel free to utilize the resources below to stay informed and help in any way you can: aid websites, articles, student groups, and organizations are all great places to start & listed below!  

Resources 

nisahomes.com/

Home

https://endingviolencecanada.org/getting-help-2/

https://theseed.ca/

Student Groups 

https://www.facebook.com/girltogirlyweg/

Articles 

https://www.feministrecovery.ca/the-plan

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/covid-19-increases-risk-for-canada-s-invisible-homeless-women-study-1.5000474

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/08/9941797/covid-homeless-women-mothers-children-risk

Works Cited

WINGS of Providence. 2020. Who we are. WINGS of Providence. Retrieved from https://www.wingsofprovidence.ca/who-we-are.aspx

Ali, Nadia. October 2016. Domestic Violence & Homelessness. The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness: Homeless Hub. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/domestic-violence-homelessness

World Health Organization. November 2017. Violence against women. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women#:~:text=Global%20estimates%20published%20by%20WHO,violence%20is%20intimate%20partner%20violence.

Canadian Women’s Foundation. February 2018. The Facts about Gender-Based Violence. Canadian Women’s Foundation. Retrieved from https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/gender-based-violence/#:~:text=Half%20of%20all%20women%20in,since%20the%20age%20of%2016.&text=67%25%20of%20Canadians%20say%20they,experienced%20physical%20or%20sexual%20abuse.&text=3-,Approximately%20every%20six%20days%2C%20a%20woman%20in%20Canada,killed%20by%20her%20intimate%20partner.

Written by: Sara Assaf

Edited by: Erica Kim