Risk and protective factors of precarious housing among indigenous people living in urban centres in Alberta, Canada

In Canada, Indigenous people are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness and other forms of precarious housing. In an effort to better understand the varied factors that might contribute to this situation, administrative data collected about individuals utilizing housing support services in seven Alberta, Canada cities were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between a categorical dependent variable measuring two housing situations (permanent/stable housing and precarious housing) and demographic, socioeconomic, and personal health problem predictor variables for Indigenous people within the study sample (n=1106). The analysis found that living in a larger city, having more income and education, and being married were all protective factors from being precariously housed. Having an addiction was found to be a risk factor for precarious housing. The findings suggest the need for more detailed investigation of the impact of addictions on housing for Indigenous people along with an assessment of the types of housing resources available for Indigenous people in smaller urban communities. Keywords: Indigenous; precarious housing; addictions; homelessness; policy Les Autochtones sont surrepresentes parmi les personnes sans domicile et en situation de logement precaire au Canada. Afin de mieux comprendre les divers facteurs qui peuvent contribuer a cette situation, les donnees administratives individuelles des personnes utilisant les services de soutien au logement dans sept villes d'Alberta, ont ete analyses. Des modeles de regression logistique ont etes utilises pour analyser la relation entre une variable qualitative dependante mesurant deux situations de logement (logementpermanent/stable et logement precaire), et des variables de prediction dans l'echantillon (n=1106), tels les donnees demographiques et socio-economiques, et les problemes de sante individuels. L'analyse demontre que vivre dans un centre urbain plus grand, avoir un revenu et un niveau d'education plus eleve, et etre marie, sont tous des facteurs de protection contre le logement precaire. Un facteur de risque pour le logement precaire est d'avoir une toxicomanie. Les resultats de l'analyse suggerent qu'une investigation plus approfondie des impacts de la toxicomanie sur la precarite au logement des Autochtones, une investigation des types de ressources en logement disponibles dans les communautes urbaines plus petites pour les Autochtones semble necessaire. Mots-cles: Autochtones; logement precaire; toxicomanie; itinerance; politique
Introduction Precarious living is becoming more commonplace within Canada. This is evident in the increasing prevalence of precarious employment (such as temporary or part-time employment) and precarious housing (such as [...]