1. New Immigrant Experiences of Housing in Calgary
Lina Lopez1, Jessica Pearson1, Kirstin Blair2, Lisa Elford2, Liza Lorenzetti1, & Christine A. Walsh1
1. Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary 2. Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary
Background
Preliminary Themes and Discussion
Adequate, suitable and affordable housing is vital to the successful settlement and integration of immigrants and refugees (Danso & Grant, 2000). Housing also plays a foundational role in their ability to access employment, education and other social services (Kissoon, 2010). However, new immigrants face a myriad of challenges in accessing housing . Researchers at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work along with the Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary partnered with new immigrants to understand their pathways from housing insecurity to housing and home. 1
“Arriving in Canada, one of the greatest challenges I faced was finding an adequate house for my family”
- Anonymous
“Landlords require us to pay rent for 6 months. That means that we need to use all of our savings to pay, and do not have money to invest in anything else” -Mary
Exhaustion of resources: Often immigrants arrive in Canada with savings for resettlement. Calgary has a high cost of living (deposits, rental costs, and transportation) which rapidly deplete savings.
Issue of Concern
“For two months this was our first home in Calgary” –Fredy & Jennifer
Housing is a pre-requisite for settlement: It is tightly linked with finding employment, accessing social and health services and finding schools for children.
Three key areas of challenge were identified for immigrants:
Finding initial independent accommodation – limited social capital, lack of system awareness and inability to meet landlord requirements
Securing a place that meets acceptable housing standards – limited choice due to discrimination, and no child policies
Maintaining a stable place – discrimination, exhaustion of resources, not understanding rights and protections as a tenant and
neighborhood considerations (i.e. access to transportation, childcare)
Discussion (results)
Methodology
Participatory Action Research (PAR): Engages research participants in the research process and its outcomes. PAR aims to empower and facilitate the capacity for social change.
We collaborated with 14 individuals to understand their experiences of housing insecurity.
Focus groups followed a semi-structured format designed to allow participants to develop case studies in a format of their choosing including Photovoice.
Photovoice is a method which uses photography and captions to raise the concerns of marginalized populations from their own perspective (Walton et al., 2012).
“At first, one of my landlords admitted that they were aware of the water-leaking problem. But when she came down with her husband the next day, they denied knowing anything about the issue” -Grace
Inadequate housing: Circumstances in Calgary sometimes require immigrants to rent housing that does not meet their needs, is unsafe and/or in need of repair.
“My landlord put my house at only 12 degrees Celsius. My landlord wouldn’t give me a rental agreement. She tried forcing me to sign an agreement that was not good for me. But I felt trapped and didn’t see any other options so I signed it” –Mary
Discrimination and exploitation: New immigrants are at risk of exploitation due to a lack of rental, credit and banking history. Additionally, many participants felt they did not understand their rights or how to protect them. Experiences of direct discrimination resulting from stereotypes, prejudice and having larger families were common.
Objectives
To understand the housing system from the perspective of new immigrants.
To explore the relationship between housing and the settlement process.
To provide evidence-informed recommendations to improve equitable access to housing for Calgary’s newcomers. 1
“Children are the future of this country, so why discriminate against them?” –Valerie
Families with children: Immigrant families with children struggle to find suitable and child -friendly rental accommodation.
“Where we come from, the word family includes everyone, not just the three of us! In Canada, we are a representation of our family, and our success means that our extended family has succeeded as well” -Aribibia
Limited social capital: Newcomers often do not have the connections that help them find the housing they need.
Acknowledgements
References
Contacts
Danso, R. K. & Grant, M. R. (2000). Access to housing as an adaptive strategy for immigrant groups: Africans in Calgary. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 32(3),
Kissoon, P. (2010). From persecution to destitution: A snapshot of asylum seekers’ housing and settlement experiences in Canada and the United Kingdom. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 8(1), 4-31
Walton, G., Schleien, S. J., Brake, L. R., Trovato, C. “. . .”, & Oakes, T. (2012). Photovoice: A collaborative methodology giving voice to underserved populations seeking community inclusion. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 46(3),
Lisa Elford–
Christine Walsh –
We would like to thank the housing service provider and lived experience participants, the United Way of Calgary and Area and the ISCC housing committee.