The Hidden Crisis: Why Rural Homelessness in Canada Is Ignored

Terrilee Kelford is a Registered Psychotherapist, CEO of the Carleton Place Collective, and Chair of Cornerstone Landing Youth Services and the National Alliance to End Rural and Remote Homelessness.

In this episode, we talk about what homelessness really looks like in small towns across Canada, where there’s no shelter system, no services, and little public acknowledgment. Terrilee shares firsthand how youth are falling through the cracks, and why rural communities are being left out of national housing plans.

Rural homelessness in Canada mirrors what’s happening across the United States: it’s widespread, undercounted, and underfunded. No matter where you live, this conversation matters.

This episode challenges the myth that homelessness is only an urban issue.