Homelessness prevention and determinants of housing among first-time and recurrent emergency shelter users in Canada

Abstract

Primary and secondary prevention initiatives stop people from becoming homeless and help them exit quickly when they do. This study uses administrative data from emergency shelters in Canada from 2010–2016 to compare homelessness pathways and housing outcomes between first-time and recurrent shelter users. It uses a multinomial logit model to identify factors that influence the likelihood of exiting into housing following a shelter stay. The findings demonstrate that first-time users are over two times more likely to exit into newly acquired housing than recurrent users, and that the pathways into and out of homelessness vary significantly between the two groups. The findings suggest that the composition of existing prevention strategies do not sufficiently meet the needs of first-time users experiencing financial and substance use challenges. For recurrent users, federal policies that promote Housing First initiatives increase exits into housing. However, duration of previous homelessness negatively influences housing outcomes, reinforcing the need for early intervention prevention initiatives.