A House is not a Home: The Housing Experiences of African and Caribbean Mothers Living with HIV

Abstract

HIV-positive mothers living in Toronto, ON, face myriad economic and social challenges that put them at risk for housing instability and homelessness. These challenges are exacerbated for mothers from African and Caribbean communities as they navigate a web of shelter, housing, health care and social care systems that do not adequately address their social positioning as HIV-positive and racialized mothers. To date, there is a dearth of research that has taken a cultural, ethnoracial and gendered lens to explore these issues, and consequently, little is known about their experiences of housing instability as it intersects with issues related to motherhood, poverty, sexism, racism, immigration status and HIV-related stigma and discrimination. This paper presents findings from the HIV, Housing and Families community-based research study and highlights the unique and complex housing issues African and Caribbean mothers facing by living with HIV in Toronto. Implications for policy and practice are also discussed.