Open-space shelters often cannot accommodate some people and thus they choose a tent outside. These people are not refusing shelter, the shelter system cannot be all things to all people in the set-up they have. Couples, people with kids or pets are often not able to seek emergency shelter. Not all homeless are able to live on their own or pay rent, but a solution of tiny homes could allow for a new way to transition people from the street to a home.

A Tiny Canin Community (sleeping pods with shared facility) or a pocket community like what is seen with 12 Neighbours is a great solution.

1 in 5 shelter users in Canada are youth. More than a third of young people who experience homelessness in Canada are from Ontario.

20% of the Canadian homeless population are youth between 13 and 24.

40% of homeless youth in Canada will have first experienced homelessness before the age of 16.

Urban Indigenous Peoples experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate and make up a significant percentage of people experiencing homelessness in cities. Research shows that Indigenous homelessness in major urban areas ranges from 20-50% of the total homeless population, while others have reported that the range may be much wider, at 11-96%. Put another way, in some Canadian cities such as Yellowknife or Whitehorse Indigenous Peoples make up 90 percent of the homeless population. Places like Thunder Bay and Winnipeg fair somewhat better; an average of 50 percent of those experiencing homelessness are Indigenous. In Toronto, Canada’s largest urban centre, Indigenous Peoples constitute around 15% of those experiencing homelessness in the city, even though they make up only around 0.5 of the total population. In fact, one study found that 1 in 15 Indigenous Peoples in urban centres experience homelessness compared to 1 in 128 for the general population. This means that Urban Indigenous Peoples are 8 times more likely to experience homelessness.

Rents continue to be unaffordable by low to mid income earners. With the cost of a bachelor apartment across Canada averaging $1,576/month, workers would need to earn $57,300/year or $28.65/hr.

Canadian minimum wage is currently $17.30/hr. leaving a 65% gap in affordability.

Poverty has been consistently linked with poorer health, higher healthcare costs, greater demands on social and community services, more stress on family members, and diminished school success – not to mention huge costs associated with reduced productivity and foregone economic activity.

Veterans in Canada are disproportionately represented among people experiencing homelessness, and are two to three times more likely to be homeless than the general population.

Number of homeless veterans

• In 2023, about 1.2% of shelter users in Canada were veterans
• In 2021, about 1.4% of shelter users in Canada were veterans
• The exact number of homeless veterans in Canada varies from 2,400 to over 10,000

Startup villages have long been seen as hotbeds for new ideas and company launches. StartUp Villages could be the one-stop incubator/accelerator services company that enables startups to bring their unique ideas and business concept to reality while living in an affordable, community-centric village.

There are numerous examples of villages around the globe.