30 search results for
BC Society of Transition Houses
Recommendation 14:
Develop online dating safety resources for RRI women as components of tech literacy for both service users and providers, in ways easily accessible to tech literacy “beginners” and adult women.
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Recommendation 9:
Develop and provide more comprehensive digital literacy training for RRI anti-violence workers.
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Recommendation 2:
Create cross-sector collaboration to ensure adequate data collection related to women experiencing homelessness and the ability for knowledge sharing.
- Women are more likely to be a part of the invisible population of those who experience homelessness, which has resulted in an inaccurate estimation of how many women experience homelessness in our province.
- Cross-sector organization will promote more accurate data collection as a result of increased awareness through knowledge sharing.
- Connections between sectors can use the strengths of each sector to help limit barriers to housing by creating more efficient systems.
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Recommendation 1:
CMHC and BC Housing should clarify that the National Occupancy Standards are simply guidelines and are not legally mandated. These organizations should publish definitive statements on their website to make this information publicly accessible.
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Recommendation 12:
Agencies can advocate for funders to pay for internet for anti-violence workers.
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Recommendation 1:
Affordable internet and phone programs can build on their work by undergoing a review of their accessibility that applies a barriers reduction approach in order to maximize their impact. Simultaneous work could be conducted related to program equity. (This could include, for example, exploration of innovative policies such as sliding scale payments.)
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Recommendation 15:
Policy work moving forward should prioritize connectivity as a safety necessity for anti-violence work and emergency preparedness. This involves actions such as:
- Ensuring that emergency alerts can reach all Canadians, especially those in areas that are increasingly impacted by climate change-aggravated disasters (infrastructure issues)
- Organizing collaborative emergency planning with participation from a variety of sectors including, for instance, the private sector – particularly companies with access to connectivity technology and infrastructure – and anti-violence organizations. As pointed out by the report, this planning should be informed by and reflect Indigenous land knowledge and practices.
- Researching and investing in sustainable and ecologically wise connectivity infrastructure that is resilient to climate change to ensure the maximum possible protection of community members’ wellbeing, especially those most vulnerable to post-crisis violence.
- Researching and developing a plan for women who need to call emergency services for experiences of violence but have no phone or internet as a result of the disaster
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Recommendation 2:
The National Occupancy Standards should not be used to exclude safe options for women experiencing violence.
As our research shows, the National Occupancy Standards are standing in the way of women accessing affordable units in social housing. Without affordable housing options, women may end up in unsafe situations. Furthermore, there is a common concern that MCFD may become involved due to the size of the unit a women is living in with her children or MCFD is unable to return children to the care of their mother from foster care because she is not able to obtain a big enough unit. The NOS are intended to address habitability and overcrowding issues but as applied as requirements by relevant housing and social service agencies, the unintended consequence is to keep women in unsafe circumstances and limit their freedom to access safe and affordable housing.
We recommend that CMHC clarify that the NOS are guidelines, not regulation and that safety should be established as the main priority for housing women and their children, not number of bedrooms.
As well, we recommend that MCFD educate their workforce so that the National Occupancy Standards are not used as justification for separating women and her children.
As our research shows, the National Occupancy Standards are standing in the way of women accessing affordable units in social housing. Without affordable housing options, women may end up in unsafe situations. Furthermore, there is a common concern that MCFD may become involved due to the size of the unit a women is living in with her children or MCFD is unable to return children to the care of their mother from foster care because she is not able to obtain a big enough unit. The NOS are intended to address habitability and overcrowding issues but as applied as requirements by relevant housing and social service agencies, the unintended consequence is to keep women in unsafe circumstances and limit their freedom to access safe and affordable housing.
We recommend that CMHC clarify that the NOS are guidelines, not regulation and that safety should be established as the main priority for housing women and their children, not number of bedrooms.
As well, we recommend that MCFD educate their workforce so that the National Occupancy Standards are not used as justification for separating women and her children.
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Recommendation 1:
Prioritizing affordable housing is essential for poverty reduction and economic security of women experiencing violence.
This community needs assessment and review of the academic and grey literature clearly shows that women experiencing violence face many challenges to securing affordable housing, with the most foundational barrier being unaffordability of housing and chronic poverty. Women experiencing violence need to find housing that is actually affordable (no more than 30% of her income) so that they are able to avoid a cycle of poverty.
We recommend that all levels of government commit to building adequate and affordable housing that fits the needs of women and their children experiencing violence.
This community needs assessment and review of the academic and grey literature clearly shows that women experiencing violence face many challenges to securing affordable housing, with the most foundational barrier being unaffordability of housing and chronic poverty. Women experiencing violence need to find housing that is actually affordable (no more than 30% of her income) so that they are able to avoid a cycle of poverty.
We recommend that all levels of government commit to building adequate and affordable housing that fits the needs of women and their children experiencing violence.
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Recommendation 3:
Partnerships are vital to reducing barriers for women experiencing violence.
Many of the barriers that women face in finding affordable long term housing can be reduced through partnerships across sectors and awareness building about the impacts of violence against women. While affordability and availability of housing are major barriers for people impacted by increasing unaffordability in BC, women experiencing violence face additional specific barriers due to their circumstances. We can see that barriers such as a lack of references, access to childcare or understanding their housing options are obstacles that can be better solved with partnerships.
We recommend that this project continues to build partnerships between transition houses, government, and the housing sector to help address and work towards improving these types of barriers.
Many of the barriers that women face in finding affordable long term housing can be reduced through partnerships across sectors and awareness building about the impacts of violence against women. While affordability and availability of housing are major barriers for people impacted by increasing unaffordability in BC, women experiencing violence face additional specific barriers due to their circumstances. We can see that barriers such as a lack of references, access to childcare or understanding their housing options are obstacles that can be better solved with partnerships.
We recommend that this project continues to build partnerships between transition houses, government, and the housing sector to help address and work towards improving these types of barriers.
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