Citation

Acorn S. J. Community Health 1993; 18(5): 283-291.

Affiliation

School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8227509

Abstract

The shelter experiences, employment history, income and social service needs utilization were examined among 124 emergency shelter users in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thirty-six (30.5%) reported this as their first experience with living in a shelter; the length of stay in the present shelter ranged from one to 90 days. Reasons for shelter use included: eviction from last place of residence, loss of job, or suffering from health problems rendering one unable to work. The highest unmet service needs were finding affordable housing and finding a job. This combination of scarcity of low-cost housing, health problems, and difficulty in finding employment have led to a situation where emergency shelters have become extended places of residence, a "home" to many.

Language: en