What are some common factors within demographics with high rates of low-income families?
Most common contributors to low income and homelessness are correlated with the lack of suitable and livable income, which connects with the deficiency of affordable housing or health care (1). Because of these two factors other contributors to this issue rise as well, for example, lack of education, poor health care systems, little access to clean food and water, which leads to malnutrition and hunger, in addition to poor access to resources (1). As well as a major issue that is overlooked by many is the social inequality and marginalization that can cause homelessness in many rich and prosperous cities. (2) Some uncontrollable factors include mental health and the lack of support for it, climate change, and many more just to name a few. (2)
Now that we know what the main factors are, how do they actually contribute to low income and homelessness?
Well, in accordance with provinces and territories that have high poverty rates the information is parallel for some locations but not to others. For example, due to low accessibility in Nunavut, almost 70% of the population was deemed food-insecure (3) an issue that raises the largest rates of poverty in Nunavut. Because of Food insecurity many work paycheck to paycheck in order to provide food for themselves and for their families, making other aspects like health care and education become trivial in comparison.
While in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver where poverty rates are high as much as wealth gaps are. Major issues like wealth distribution, unsteady social programs, mental health, and domestic violence are relevant issues concerning poverty(4). For example, due to high housing prices in Toronto and insufficient income support programs, many low-income persons are unable to self-support their families ultimately leading to higher rates of homelessness.
To understand and add to the bigger picture, I chose to do my second round of research on the major causes of low income and poverty to be able to dig deep into this issue. By pursuing this line of questioning I am able to understand the reasoning for each cause and learn how to regress this issue.
(1) Koegel, P. (n.d.). Causes of homelessness: Overview. Encyclopedia of Homelessness, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412952569.n21
(2) concern worldwide . (2020, March 4). 11 top causes of global poverty – world. ReliefWeb. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://reliefweb.int/report/world/11-top-causes-global-poverty.
(3) Food insecurity in Nunavut: An ongoing issue. Canada Without Poverty. (2021, June 1). Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://cwp-csp.ca/2021/06/food-insecurity-in-nunavut-an-ongoing-issue/.
(4) Administrator, T. star editorial. (n.d.). Home. Root causes of inequality and poverty. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.spno.ca/news/latest/89-root-causes-of-inequality-and-poverty.