Why don’t homeless people just get a job?
While many people who are homeless do get jobs, there are those for whom the prospect of employment is a great challenge. Is this because they don’t want to work? There is strong evidence that the overwhelming majority of people who are homeless do want to work. Studies by Gaetz and O’Grady (1999; 2002) found that 87% of young people who squeegee, panhandle and engage in illegal activities would much rather have a regular job. And its not as if they aren’t trying. In that 2002 study (sample: 360 youth in Toronto) street youth reported having on average over three different jobs in the previous year. So, what gets in the way of getting a job and keeping it when you are homeless? A good place to begin answering this question is to think about what allows you to go to school every day, or maintain a job. Most young people will know that it is hard enough to get a job when you live at home. To GET a job, we all need the following: a permanent address to put on an application form (would yo
