Poverty and Homelessness Action Week: Addressing Ongoing Colonial Harms
As we observe Poverty and Homelessness Action Week (Oct. 20-25), it is essential to acknowledge the disproportionate representation of Indigenous people in poverty and homelessness across Canada.
The causes of this disparity are rooted in colonial systems, policies, and structures designed to displace, dispossess, and dehumanize Indigenous people, rather than individual failure.
Poverty and homelessness among Indigenous peoples is not an accident or a result of individual failure.
Support is available for residential school survivors and their relatives through the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program hotline, which provides assistance for those suffering from trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse.
The author reflects on their personal experiences, having written many short stories about their life, highlighting the need to reckon with ongoing colonial harms.
Author's summary: Acknowledging colonial harms during Poverty and Homelessness Action Week.