Canadian Observatory on Homelessness

The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH)—formerly named the Canadian Homelessness Research Network (CHRN)—is a Canadian non-profit, non-partisan research institute that works with researchers, service providers, policy makers, students and people who have experienced homelessness.

The COH focuses on the following areas: “systems responses” to homelessness; determining effective models of housing and support; Aboriginal homelessness; homelessness prevention; youth homelessness; legal and justice issues; measuring progress towards ending homelessness; knowledge mobilization and research impact.

The organization’s website, the Homeless Hub, offers information on the causes of and solutions to homelessness.

The CHRN was founded in 2008, through a 7-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant. Its goals were to enhance networking amongst stakeholders in the field and to mobilize homelessness research in Canada.

Through a second SSHRC grant awarded in 2013, the CHRN was renamed the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH). The COH continues the work of the CHRN and introduces a program of research that includes local, provincial and national monitoring activities, as well as original research that addresses key issues in homelessness. The current and founding Director is Dr. Stephen Gaetz, a professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where the COH is also housed. Members of the COH include 28 academics from institutions across Canada, as well as 28 agencies and community organizations.

In 2005 there was no consistent definition of homelessness. At the time, most research and programs focused on "absolute homelessness" and public policy initiatives.

In 2012, the CHRN/COH released the Canadian definition of homelessness to create a common understanding when it comes to measuring homelessness in Canada, and identifying goals, interventions and strategies to address homelessness effectively. The CHRN’s definition of homelessness, which is closely based on the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS) definition, groups the homeless population into four categories: “unsheltered”, “emergency sheltered”, “provisionally accommodated” and “at risk of homelessness.”

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