The Disappearance of Urban Horses and the Rise of Homelessness and Mental Illness

Abstract

Homelessness is growing in cities across the Western world, accompanied by high rates of mental health problems. To address this crisis, programs focus on providing affordable housing and mental health services. Yet this effort seems insufficient to stem the tide. Based on long-term ethnographic research with horse-drawn carriage drivers in Montreal, I tell the story of Jerome, who was experiencing homelessness and psychic distress prior to his unexpected encounter with a horse-drawn carriage. To understand how Jerome reoriented his life, I build on the urban literature on convivial spaces while also drawing on multispecies ethnography's attention to entanglements with non-human animals. I argue that Jerome benefitted from the “atmosphere of conviviality” of the carriage stand, where horses foster spontaneous interactions, encourage lingering and enjoyment, and facilitate connections across social divides. Encounters in convivial atmospheres may also allow people to build routines and even craft a way of life. This research brings a view of homelessness and mental illness as a process entangled with the urban ecology. The transformation of the city, particularly the disappearance of domestic animals such as horses, may be an overlooked yet significant factor in the rise of unhoused people with psychiatric conditions caught in the institutional circuit.