Two York University professors have written chapters for a new book that explores homelessness and pandemic planning.
Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and professor in the Faculty of Education, and Janet Mosher, professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, contributed to the newly published book Pandemic Preparedness and Homelessness: Lessons from H1N1 in Canada.
York University alumna Kristy Buccieri, who received her PhD from the Faculty of Education, also contributed as one of the book’s editors.
The book looks at the threat to the health of homeless individuals and the security of the social infrastructure they rely on for support in the event of a pandemic outbreak. Pandemic Preparedness and Homelessness brings together the work of Canadian researchers to explore how our current responses to homelessness impact on the vulnerability of homeless populations in the event of a pandemic.
During the 2009 and 2010 H1N1 influenza outbreak, a team of Canadian researchers from across the country undertook an analysis of the impact of the outbreak within the context of homelessness, through surveys and interviews with front-line workers, policy-makers, and persons with lived experience. This book details the findings of this multi-site study, including chapters on the challenges of pandemic planning in the context of homelessness, accessing justice amid threats of contagion, and the health and wellness of homeless individuals in Canada, drawing on a large national data set.
This volume also features case studies of how the four Canadian cities of Victoria, Calgary, Regina and Toronto prepared for, and responded to, the H1N1 outbreak in relation to homeless citizens.
The book will be available for purchase from York’s bookstore, and also for free download from the Homeless Hub, as of Oct. 13.