Healing through Creativity: Community Responses to Homelessness.

Many people who experience more chronic forms of severe housing live with complex health and social needs that demand holistic responses. While advocacy and evidence have long centered on clinical treatment, housing, and social services, there is growing recognition of the role that arts-based and culture-led interventions can play in promoting well-being and a sense of togetherness for people experiencing housing loss.

Crucially, studies have shown that creative expression and cultural practices do not replace clinical care; they complement it by addressing trauma, isolation, and loss of identity in ways that complement housing services. According to Kaitlin Schwan’s article, Can Art Make a Difference? Mobilizing the Arts to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness, creative activities provide non-verbal outlets for pain, opportunities for rebuilding identity, social connection, and empowerment, all of which support recovery.

Housing First, an evidence-based approach to addressing issues of housing deprivation within communities prioritizes immediate access to stable housing without preconditions (such as sobriety) and includes practices of building social inclusion.

In fact, the fifth principle of Housing First is community integration, and engaging in arts-based activities is one evidence-based means of supporting this integration. As one summary of Indigenous healing approaches notes, culturally rooted arts collectives offer a “holistic approach to healing including the body, mind, and spirit”, filling gaps left by Western clinical methods. Read Full Report