Beyond Shelters: Solutions to Homelessness in Canada from the Front Lines

Newspapers, television and films cast homeless shelters as places of desperation, sadness and sickness. However, over the last 25 years, homeless shelters have changed dramatically.

Shelters have become more professional and sophisticated in addressing homelessness in their communities. They now do much more than provide a bed and a meal for the night ― they offer different methods of intervention, different types of services and different forms of connection to the communities they serve.

This book offers essays by experienced shelter managers who address the future of the homeless shelter in Canada. This diverse collection also includes a chapter by Dr. Sam Tsemberis, the father of the successful Housing First Model. There are contributions by leaders in the homelessness field from across Canada, who have been at the forefront of developing unique services for women, youth, Indigenous people, and families. The days of shelters serving to merely warehouse homeless people out of sight and mind are being replaced by specialized approaches that are reducing homelessness in Canada.

The contributors have years of experience understanding the causes of and solutions to homelessness and the role that shelters can play in achieving their ultimate goal ― the elimination of all forms of homelessness in Canada.

JAMES HUGHES is the CEO of Montreal’s Old Brewery Mission, the largest organization serving homeless people in Quebec. His previous roles include serving as an executive with  the McConnell Family Foundation, President of the Graham Boeckh Foundation, and Deputy Minister, Department of Social Development in New Brunswick. His previous books include Early Intervention (Lorimer 2015) and Beyond Shelters (Lorimer 2018). He lives in Montreal.