When people think about homelessness, they often picture its most visible forms: someone living on the streets, staying in a shelter, or carrying their belongings in public view. However, for many women, homelessness tends to be much less visible. It may mean moving from one friend’s couch to another, staying temporarily with relatives, living in unsafe accommodations, or even staying with an abusive partner because there is nowhere else to go.
Because these experiences are less visible, homelessness among women is significantly undercounted. A recent study conducted by the Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network has found that women and gender-diverse individuals are less likely to appear in locations where people experiencing homelessness are usually seen, such as shelters and outdoor public locations. This implies that conventional homelessness statistics tend to overlook the hidden forms of homelessness more commonly experienced by women.
Domestic and Gender-Based Violence as a Pathway Into Homelessness
Intimate and domestic violence are key routes to homelessness for many women. In choosing to flee domestic violence, many women must leave their homes, sources of income, possessions, childcare, means of transportation, and support networks behind. The choice is not always between remaining and fleeing. It could also mean choosing between living in an unsafe place and entering an insecure state of housing.
In Statistics Canada’s 2022/2023 survey on residential facilities for victims of abuse, three-quarters of the women residing in those facilities during the survey period had experienced abuse by a current or former partner. The same survey showed that 85% of these facilities reported a lack of affordable and stable housing as one of the main challenges these women faced. Access to housing thus becomes an integral part of violence prevention, because supporting a woman before she becomes homeless can help her escape an unsafe situation without forcing her into another crisis.
Understanding Hidden Homelessness
Hidden homelessness refers to individuals who lack adequate housing but stay temporarily at others’ homes without a guarantee of being able to stay there. For women, hidden homelessness can take the form of temporary stays with friends and family, couch surfing, living in a vehicle, or remaining in unsafe housing because no safer option is available.
Women may avoid staying out on the street or using certain shelters because of concerns about security and privacy. As a result, women’s homelessness can be difficult to capture through the data obtained from shelters and Point-in-Time count surveys.
Safety Without Stable Housing
Without secure housing, women can face increased vulnerability to violence, harassment, exploitation, trafficking, and unsafe sleeping environments. These risks should not define women experiencing homelessness, but they demonstrate why access to secure, private spaces is so important.
Housing instability can also disrupt daily life. The constant need to find somewhere to stay can make it harder to maintain employment, attend appointments, care for children, store medications or belongings, and stay connected to supportive services.
Women with children may face additional challenges when looking for housing that is safe, affordable, large enough for their family, and accessible to schools, childcare, transportation, and other supports. These challenges may be further compounded by factors such as Indigeneity, disability, race, immigration status, income, age, and family circumstances, which can create additional barriers to obtaining safe and stable housing.
Barriers to Gender-Specific Resources
Shelters are crucial but should not be the sole response to women’s homelessness. Canada continues to face shortages of affordable housing, transitional housing, women-specific shelters, and violence and homelessness services. In just one day on April 6, 2023, 33% of facilities for victims of abuse reportedly refused to accommodate women. Among facilities that turned women away, 82% stated that the shelter was full. A universal approach to providing services will also fall short of addressing the different situations of women.
Supports need to be trauma-informed, gender-based, culturally competent, and accessible. They should also consider the diverse needs of women with children, Indigenous women, immigrant and refugee women, women with disabilities, and other women and gender-diverse individuals who might face barriers in accessing support.
From Emergency Response to Long-Term Stability
Ending women’s homelessness involves much more than merely offering a place to stay for a single night. Housing supports, financial assistance, case management, advocacy, violence prevention programs, and affordable housing opportunities can all work to prevent women from becoming homeless or help them get out of it. Prevention is vital. In some cases, preventing homelessness means ensuring that a woman can leave an unsafe situation without losing access to or her right to stable housing.
Long-term housing is also essential. Statistics Canada found that, among people who had experienced sheltered or unsheltered homelessness, women were more than twice as likely as men to identify access to subsidized housing as a factor that helped them regain and maintain housing: 22.4% of women compared to 8.0% of men. Stable housing is not simply the end goal. It can provide a foundation for safety, independence, health, employment, family stability, and long-term well-being.
How Communities Can Help
Communities can help by supporting women’s shelters, domestic violence services, affordable and supportive housing organizations, and community outreach programs.
Just as importantly, women with lived experience of homelessness and housing insecurity should be included when programs, services, and policies are being developed. Listening to those with lived experience helps ensure that responses reflect the realities women actually face, rather than assumptions about what they need.
At the Alberta Homeless Foundation, we believe awareness is part of meaningful action. Women’s homelessness cannot be effectively addressed if we only recognize its most visible forms. By understanding hidden homelessness, recognizing the connection between violence and housing instability, and addressing the barriers women may face when seeking support, communities can help create stronger pathways toward safety and stability.
Every woman deserves access to a safe, stable place to call home.
