Methamphetamine Use and Homelessness
Use of methamphetamine among persons who experience homelessness has increased significantly in recent decades. This has occurred alongside the emergence of the opioid crisis, creating a complex health and social situation that has transformed the experiences of individuals who are unhoused, the service providers who support them, and policymakers. Explore our projects below to understand more about our research with persons with lived experiences of homelessness and service providers.
Lived Experiences of Methamphetamine Use and Homelessness
In this research, funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research, our team interviewed 186 individuals experiencing homelessness in London and Kingston, Ontario, Canada using mixed methods. Participants described being embedded within environments that gave rise to the use of methamphetamine. Most described wanting help with reducing their use of substances, but were unable to access such services. Our report and publications on this research are forthcoming.
Service Provider Perspectives on Methamphetamine Use Among Persons Experiencing Homelessness
In this research, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, we interviewed 21 service providers working in shelters, drop-in centres and mental health and harm reduction programs to describe their experiences of providing care to persons who experience homelessness and use methamphetamine. Service providers described observing significant increases in the use of methamphetamine among persons using their services. they described how associated behaviour changes in people using their services due to this increase in use of methamphetamine has transformed the ways in which services are delivered. Our report and publications on this research are forthcoming.
Violence and victimisation in the lives of persons experiencing homelessness who use methamphetamine: A scoping review
This scoping review provides an overview of research exploring violence and victimization in the lives of persons experiencing homelessness while using methamphetamine. We searched seven databases up to March 2021, and identified 20 articles that met inclusion criteria. Our findings highlight that individual who experience homelessness and use MA are particularly vulnerable to experiences of trauma. Though existing literature does acknowledge the challenging behaviour associated with MA use, only three existing studies demonstrated a relationship between MA use and physical violence.