Understand how we got here, and where change is possible.
Homelessness can feel overwhelming. Understanding how it happens helps us see where change is possible.
Developed by the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa’s Expert Steering Team, Homelessness 101 brings lived expertise, historical context, and systems thinking together in an approachable introduction to homelessness, its impacts, and its solutions.
Participants explore how housing policy, income supports, colonialism, and gaps between services shape people’s access to stable housing. We examine common explanations for homelessness and consider how personal challenges become housing crises when the systems around people fail to provide adequate support. The session connects these issues to practical approaches to prevention, housing, and collective action.
What to expect
The presentation introduces the landscape of homelessness in Ottawa, including experiences that are less visible, such as staying temporarily with others or moving between insecure housing arrangements.
From there, we explore how policy decisions have shaped housing affordability and access to support over time. Participants consider the ongoing impacts of colonialism, the barriers faced by different communities, and the ways homelessness affects health, dignity, and well-being.
We challenge stigmatizing assumptions and examine what ending homelessness requires: preventing housing loss, improving access to housing and supports, and building systems that work together.
The session closes with opportunities for questions and reflection on how participants can apply their learning.
Learning objectives
Participants will have opportunities to:
- Recognize different forms of homelessness and the limitations of existing population data.
• Explain how housing conditions, policy choices, and systems failures contribute to homelessness.
• Recognize the impacts of colonialism and inequity on access to housing and support.
• Identify and challenge common myths and stigmatizing assumptions.
• Describe the roles of prevention, affordable and supportive housing, and coordinated services.
• Explain why lived experience leadership matters in developing effective responses.
• Identify opportunities to contribute through professional practice, community involvement, and advocacy.
Who it’s for
Community organizations, students, educators, volunteers, public-sector teams, and professionals seeking a foundational understanding of homelessness.
No previous knowledge of housing policy or the homelessness sector is required. The session provides a shared foundation for groups beginning these conversations or looking to strengthen their understanding.
Note that a child-friendly alternate adaptation has been created to achieve the learning outcomes listed above in a manner that is supportive of the Ontario grade 5 curriculum.
Session details
Preferred duration: 60 minutes
Facilitation: Two co-facilitators, including at least one person with lived experience of homelessness.
Materials: Access to presentation materials.
Setting: In person or virtual
Bring the learning into your work
How we understand homelessness affects the decisions we make, the language we use, and the solutions we support. Homelessness 101 gives participants a foundation for more informed conversations and action within their organizations and communities.
Contact us to discuss your audience, learning goals, session length, and delivery arrangements.