Living Through the Chaos

Rethinking Ecological Dimensions of Suicide with Young Women and Femmes Facing Housing Injustice

Authors

  • Nicole Dunn University of Toronto image/svg+xml
  • Jeffrey Ansloos University of Toronto

Keywords:

housing injustice, youthhood, suicide prevention, women, girls, femmes

Abstract

Suicidality among young women and femmes facing housing injustice is an urgent yet under-explored public health issue in Canada. This study highlights the invisibility of “hidden homelessness” and moves beyond individual risk factors to examine how structural, relational, and political forces shape distress. Using narrative inquiry and life history methods, the research identifies four key themes: 1. When a Non-No is a Yes, 2. Unsavoury People and Other Ruptures, 3. Inconsistency and Bouncing Around, and 4. Organized Abandonment and Chaos, Chaos, Chaos, Chaos. These themes elucidate the intersections of gendered violence, systemic neglect, and organized abandonment in shaping suicide risk and survival strategies. The study advocates for justice-oriented, non-coercive approaches to suicide prevention, and emphasizes relational trust and policies that address housing injustice. Strengths, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.

Author Biographies

  • Nicole Dunn, University of Toronto

    Nicole Santos Dunn, PhD, RP, R.Psych, CCC, is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in the faculty of Education, Counselling Psychology, and Special Education. 

  • Jeffrey Ansloos, University of Toronto

    Jeffrey Ansloos PhD, CPsych, is Associate Professor of Indigenous Health and Social Policy and the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Studies of Health, Suicide Studies, and Environmental Justice at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. 

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Published

2025-12-03

Issue

Vol. 46 No. 3 (2025): Liveable Futures: Radical Imagination as Method // Radical Imagination as Survival

Section

Liveable Futures: Radical Imagination as Method // Radical Imagination as Survival

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