At Home/Chez Soi Project
Homelessness is a growing issue for many cities across Canada, including Vancouver, and is particularly concerning for those with mental illnesses. The At Home/Chez Soi project is the largest assessment of the Housing First program in the world, a program intent on eliminating homelessness. Housing first involves providing individuals with housing as the initial intervention, prior to any other services, based on the premise that housing is an individual’s most primary need. Thus, the At Home/Chez Soi project is a national project that sought to examine the ability of Housing First interventions to minimize homelessness among those with mental illnesses across Canada. The project followed 2,000 Canadian individuals with diagnosed mental illnesses across a two-year period from 5 cities. Data was collected through interviews with individuals who both were homeless and had a diagnosed mental illness, as well as administrative file reviews.
The data collected for this project was released in a final report and used in a number of smaller published studies.
a) One of these studies is the Adverse Childhood Experiences, Criminal Justice Involvement, Victimization, Homelessness, and Mental Illness, which used the baseline data obtained for the At Home/Chez Soi project to investigate the impact Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs) have on later risk for involvement with the criminal justice system and victimization among homeless populations. The findings of this study found high rates of ACEs in the sample as well as higher rates of criminal justice involvement and victimization among those who experienced ACEs.
b) Another study, which is to be submitted soon, is titled Homelessness, mental illness, and victimization: Contrasting the prevalence, frequency and nature of criminal victimization among homeless individuals experiencing mental illness with the general population. Public discourse and research surrounding homelessness and mental illness disproportionately focuses on the perpetration of criminal and violence behaviour in this population, however, people experiencing homelessness and mental illness are more often victims of violence than the perpetrators. This study contrasted the prevalence, frequency and nature of criminal victimization among homeless individuals experiencing mental illness with the general population and explored key correlates associated with victimization. We found that criminal victimization is pervasive in the life’s of homeless individuals experiencing mental illness and occurs at rates that far exceed those of the general population.
Systematic Review: Childhood Maltreatment, Criminal Justice Involvement, Victimization, and Homelessness
Research has indicated that homeless populations experience increased risk for criminal justice involvement and victimization, with childhood maltreatment being identified as a potential precursor for these homeless populations. Given this, Dr. Tonia Nicholls and her post-doctoral fellow, Hanie Edalati, conducted a systematic review, synthesizing the existing literature on the association between childhood maltreatment, criminal justice involvement, and victimization among homeless populations. The findings of the review suggest that at-risk families should be targeted for prevention and treatment efforts and there is a need for homeless services to adopt trauma-informed interventions.
Women, Victimization, and Homelessness Systematic Review
Between 2020 and 2023 beginning, Dr. Nicholls and Ph.D. student Faith Eiboff worked on a systematic integrative review of the empirical literature regarding violence among women experiencing homelessness. The review was followed by a four month period of data collection to explore the link. The resulting report titled “I was clean for a year and it was because I wasn’t homeless.” Exploring the mental health and substance use needs of homeless and/or precariously housed women in Surrey, BC., analysed the stories of 58 women. See her poster here!
Faith presented her findings at the Surrey Vulnerable Women and Girls – Community Forum in 2023.
The report is currently under review!