Addressing Urban Indigenous Housing, Homelessness and Encampments: Perspectives of the Friendship Centre Movement

What is the Friendship Centre Movement?
The Friendship Centre Movement is a historic community-driven urban Indigenous movement, grounded in Indigenous self-determination and cultural resurgence. Today, it is expressed through an urban Indigenous service delivery network in Canada made up of over 100 Friendship Centres and 6 Provincial/Territorial Associations. The Friendship Centre Movement is an urban Indigenous civil society network and service delivery infrastructure in Canada.

What Friendship Centres offer
Friendship Centres are urban Indigenous cultural hubs in cities and towns across Canada. They provide social services, culturally relevant wraparound supports, and help urban Indigenous peoples participate fully in Canada’s economy.

Areas of support include:

• access to culture, ceremonies and Indigenous language learning
• health and healing
• shelter and housing
• education, employment and training
• parenting programs
• supports for children and youth
• justice programming
• supports for Indigenous Elders and seniors

Understanding challenges in urban Indigenous service delivery
The National Association of Friendship Centres conducted research to explore the barriers Friendship Centres face when providing front-line support to Indigenous people in their communities experiencing housing challenges or homelessness. This research included:

• a literature review and environmental scan
• in-person and virtual discussions with front-line staff from Friendship Centres across the country
• an online survey

The findings will be used by the National Association of Friendship Centres to guide the development of strategies and tools. These strategies and tools aim to empower the work of front-line Friendship Centre staff as part of the National Association of Friendship Centre’s Housing and Homelessness Framework and Action Plan.

Key challenges facing Indigenous people and Friendship Centre staff
The challenges faced by Indigenous people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity are multifaceted and rooted in historical and ongoing displacement. Findings of the study indicated that urban Indigenous community members encounter systemic barriers, such as anti-Indigenous racism and stigmatization, when trying to navigate housing challenges. Friendship Centre staff supporting these community members indicate they are under-resourced and experience burnout and compassion fatigue. Friendship Centre staff emphasized that those they support need access to holistic, culturally appropriate support services that are responsive to both individual characteristics (such as gender, stage of life and mental health), and geographic considerations (such as location, climate and environment).

Recommendations from the National Association of Friendship Centres
Based on the findings, the organization has developed several recommendations, including:

• adapting a compassionate, human rights-based approach to support community members living in encampments
• prioritizing relationship building in service delivery
• providing culturally appropriate support services that restore and strengthen community ties

Services provided

• Participating Friendship Centre staff indicated that an intersectional approach in service delivery is required for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous service providers. This approach helps to meet the unique challenges experienced by women, seniors, youth and other community members.
• Front-line Friendship Centre staff reported that the Indigenous people they support encounter racism in the shelter system and when accessing health care and other services from non-Indigenous providers.
• The supports provided vary by Friendship Centre, but generally include:
  • connections to housing, for example transitional housing, tiny homes and shelters
  • provision of equipment, clothing and food
  • connections to culture-based wraparound supports
• Front-line Friendship Centre staff emphasized the need for community supports that are culturally appropriate, non-judgmental and adaptable to meet the needs of Indigenous people in “all walks of life.”
• Friendship Centres in several communities are supporting individuals living in encampments. Their staff emphasize the importance of a relationship-driven approach which includes:
  • getting to know those living in encampments
  • supporting their immediate needs, such as providing access to portable showers and the provision of laundry cards

Challenges experienced by Friendship Centres

• Stigma, prejudice and NIMBYism (not in my backyard) toward Indigenous people are barriers faced by Friendship Centre staff in their efforts to support community members who are precariously housed or living unhoused and in encampments.
• Friendship Centres tailor supports to the needs of their community and note that challenges vary across the country. Some Friendship Centres have had to adapt their services to support community members during unpredictable climate events, such as heatwaves or wildfires. In response, Friendship Centres have expanded their role to support both local urban Indigenous community members and those displaced by climate emergencies.

Challenges faced by front-line staff

• Front-line Friendship Centre staff face increasing burnout as demand for services grows without corresponding increases in staffing and resources. Participants emphasized that sustainable investment in staff well-being, including:
  • equitable compensation
  • mental health supports
  • professional development

  These investments are essential to maintaining the strength of the Friendship Centre Movement.

• Participants noted that the burden on front-line services is worsened by insufficient government action on systemic issues affect their communities. These include:
  • investments in safe and accessible affordable housing
  • sufficient public transportation systems
  • sustainable funding for urban Indigenous infrastructures, like Friendship Centres

Implications for the housing sector

The findings of the National Association of Friendship Centres report highlight several implications for Indigenous housing, programs and services.

• The importance of Indigenous-led housing provision paired with culturally appropriate wraparound supports and services

  This study emphasizes the importance of affordable housing alongside supports that help individuals maintain their housing. It also highlights the need for increased Indigenous-led housing development in urban and rural areas and greater training for staff in broader housing and social service systems. Friendship Centres have called for encampment responses to be developed in collaboration with Indigenous organizations and governments.
  
  

• The necessity of strengthening resources and professional development for front-line staff in Indigenous organizations focused on housing and support provision. This focus is needed to meet rising demands and climate-driven emergency needs.

  The findings echo other research highlighting the high demand for services faced by front-line organizations and their staff. The demand can result in burnout, staff turnover and recruitment challenges.

  The study highlights the added pressures on Friendship Centres in areas where climate events, such as wildfires affecting neighbouring areas, lead to an influx of individuals seeking support. With the increasing frequency of climate events, front-line urban Indigenous organizations, like Friendship Centres, need resources to:

  • meet the ongoing needs of those they support
  • address unforeseen spikes in demand for services that occur during climate-related events

  These events disproportionately impact urban Indigenous communities.
  
  

• The urgent need for increased supply of culturally safe, secure and affordable housing for Indigenous people living in urban, rural and northern areas.

  Front-line staff highlighted the stigma and prejudice toward people experiencing homelessness. They also pointed to stigma and prejudice toward Indigenous organizations providing supports as barriers to helping those they support access services within the broader housing system.

Methodology

The National Association of Friendship Centres conducted a literature review and environmental scan. This process gathered online information regarding the Friendship Centre Movement, urban Indigenous communities and supports available for Indigenous people experiencing homelessness or living in encampments.

The National Association of Friendship Centres also partnered with 5 Friendship Centres in 3 provinces across Canada — British Columbia, Manitoba and Newfoundland. Engagement sessions included participation from various Friendship Centre staff members and community partners. These sessions had between 3 and 20 participants, with facilitators encouraging dialogue and exploration of diverse perspectives. Participants included front-line workers or housing managers within Friendship Centres and external partners.

An online survey was also distributed during the National Association of Friendship Centre’s 2023 Urban Indigenous Summit, with questions in line with those asked in engagement sessions. The survey received approximately 40 responses.

In addition, the National Association for Friendship Centres held a virtual engagement session for the broader Friendship Centre Movement. This included Friendship Centres and Provincial/Territorial Associations and had over 30 registrants.

Friendship Centres operate independently, therefore the findings are not representative of the experiences of all Friendship Centres. However, they highlight familiar challenges across the Friendship Centre Movement.

Members of encampment communities were not directly contacted. However, the findings reported by front-line workers offer valuable insights into the current landscape of services geared to these communities and the barriers they face.

Future research opportunities

The National Association of Friendship Centres is using the findings of this project in their development of a comprehensive Friendship Centres-Specific Housing and Homelessness National Action Plan and Framework. This project also aims to further the Association’s relationships with individual Friendship Centres and with partner organizations. The goal is to influence the development of necessary tools to support their work and help address challenges.

The research highlights a few key areas for future research, including:

• identifying ways to reduce prejudice and NIMBYism toward Indigenous housing programs and supports in urban areas
• continuing to explore what a human-rights-based approach to encampments looks like from an urban Indigenous approach to service delivery
• developing guidance on how these approaches can be, put into practice by modelling wise practices from urban Indigenous service delivery organizations like Friendship Centres