How to address homelessness through global dialogue.

Abe Oudshoorn

Managing Editor, International Journal on Homelessness | Associate Professor, Nursing, Western University
Large play button iconLarge replay icon

Homelessness is a global problem.  

Realizing this is what it took for Abe Oudshoorn and his colleagues to address homelessness in a fresh, new way. “In our field, we often just look at our own communities, or maybe provincially and federally,” says Abe, a Western nursing professor who has long specialized in homelessness.

“As I began to look globally and talk with others in my field, I was struck by is how similar the challenge is everywhere.”

We are dealing with the same issues worldwide: lack of available housing, high costs, and insufficient support for those without a home.  

Abe and his colleagues realized they could do more by working together. So they created the International Journal on Homelessness, of which he is managing editor.  

Abe

ʼs
Impact
Principles

  • Use compassion to bring people together towards a common goal.
  • Good information is essential — do your homework and then share the information.
  • Make it clear what you want and find a way to ‘be of use’ towards your goal.

“This is a way for us to create a global dialogue where we can begin to define a shared definition of homelessness. And we are ensuring the global south has a strong voice because those nations are often left out of academic research. We accept articles in eight different languages and provide free publication, which lets us share information more widely.”

Abe is working with the NGO Working Group to End Homelessness. One of its goals is to have ending homelessness as one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) when they are updated in 2030. He says that will mean countries adhering to the SDGs will be accountable for addressing homelessness and recognizing housing as a fundamental human right.  

He is also collaborating with homelessness advocates in Ontario. With funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, they have developed a province-wide network that has proposed a policy framework to end homelessness.

As for his own impact, he cites John Irving’s novel The Cider House Rules.

“There is a physician character in that story who encourages people to ‘be of use.’ I want to be of use in ending homelessness. Not just at the local level, but to push policy at the national level, and be part of a global movement and a global conversation.”

Explore Stories

Abe

How to address homelessness through global dialogue.

Play button icon

Luke

How to think critically about the role of AI in our lives.

Play button icon

Kalley

How to encourage Indigenous youth through sport.

Play button icon

Lauren

How to advance equity in the stem cell pool.

Play button icon

Demo

How adopting compassion can make a difference.

Play button icon

Tima

How a sustainable future relies on collective engagement.

Play button icon

Sonya

How to make health care truly inclusive.

Play button icon

Matthew

How literature can change the world.

Play button icon

Marianna

How women in tech need to be seen and heard.

Play button icon

Chloe

How vulnerability can normalize mental health disorders.

Play button icon

Greg

How collaboration and communication build safer communities.

Play button icon

Sunil

How data can support the fight for human rights.

Play button icon

Katreena

How to identify and address gender-based violence.

Play button icon

Ivy

How cultural identity lives through sport.

Play button icon

Raj

How hip-hop has cultural importance for Inuit communities.

Play button icon

Heading

Play button icon

Heading

Play button icon

Heading

Play button icon