Homelessness, Stable Housing and Opportunities for Healthy Aging: Exploring the Relationships

Canada is undergoing demographic changes as the population ages and by 2030, it is estimated that approximately 25 percent of Canada’s population will be 65 years of age or older (Moore and Rosenberg, 2001). In this context, it is likely a greater proportion of the older population will have experienced homelessness in their life compared to previous generation. Presently, academic research and public policy have failed to consider how people with histories of homelessness will fare in older age. This dissertation addresses this unexplored area of research through the achievement of three broad objectives. First, the research contributes an original conceptualization of the longterm effects of homelessness on health and aging. Second, it explores how stable housing can improve homeless people’s opportunities for healthy aging. Third, the research provides a better understanding of how being homeless in earlier life can affect experiences of health and aging in later stages of the life course.