Nowhere Else to Go: Inadequate Housing & Risk of Homelessness

C i t i e s C e n t r e • U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r o n t o i i i N o w h e r e E l s e t o G o Executive Summary Toronto is the site of a homelessness disaster in which thousands of people each year with no place of their own must stay in shelters, on the street, and in places not intended for human habitation. [...] 2.2 Describing Families’ Risk of Homelessness In order to describe risk of homelessness in a housed population, we first identified six indica- tors relating to the key dimensions of housing adequacy: affordability, suitable size, safety, se- curity of tenure, condition of the unit, and condition of the building. [...] C i t i e s C e n t r e U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r o n t o N o w h e r e E l s e t o Go 9 3.1 High Rates of Inadequate Housing and Risk of Homelessness Nine in ten families live in inadequate housing and are at risk of homelessness Inadequate housing and the risk of homelessness are almost universal among families with children living in high-rise rental apartments in Toronto’s low-income nei. [...] Those advocating for tenants living in bad C i t i e s C e n t r e U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r o n t o 1 4 N o w h e r e E l s e t o Go housing conditions counsel families not to withhold rent, even in cases of dangerous disrepair, because of the risk of eviction. [...] C i t i e s C e n t r e U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r o n t o N o w h e r e E l s e t o Go 1 7 3.2 Risk of Homelessness Is Related to Race, Immigration, Gender, and Socio- Economic Status We looked at how both the prevalence and the severity of homelessness risk differ among various groups.