Supporting intersecting cultural needs of gender and age by increasing cultural safety and humility for Housing First initiatives

BACKGROUND: To sufficiently house and support persons experiencing homelessness (PEH), deeper understandings of the cultural appropriateness and responsiveness of community resources and the service delivery system is essential. In the case of Metro Vancouver, Canada, the cultural appropriateness and responsiveness of Housing First as a service model for supporting PEH was explored. METHODS: Local service providers and stakeholders (n = 52) participated in three full day service-mapping workshops to identify Housing First supports for older adults, youth, and women experiencing homelessness, as part of a municipal-wide participatory and action-oriented study. Data were analyzed using a structured framework thematic analysis approach and cultural safety and humility lenses. RESULTS: We generated three key themes: (i) insufficient built environments create challenges across gender and age, (ii) cultural safety and humility concerns at the intersection of gender and age, and (iii) implications for a culturally-responsive Housing First implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Findings informed the development of a Culturally-Responsive Planning resource to support housing, health, and social service providers who are implementing Housing First initiatives. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-15955-7.