How Lack of Internet Access Deepens Homelessness in London, Ontario

Written By: Maira Elahi

In 2025, internet access isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation of social participation. For unhoused individuals in London, Ontario, the absence of reliable Wi-Fi or a working phone doesn’t just create inconvenience. It widens an already severe gap in access to housing, healthcare, safety, employment, and government support. While we often picture homelessness through the lens of food and shelter insecurity, the digital layer of marginalization is quieter, harder to see, and devastatingly consequential. 

“No Phone, No Housing”: The Digitization of London’s Rental Market 

London’s rental landscape has moved almost entirely online: 

- Kijiji messages 

- Zumper listings 

- Facebook Marketplace groups 

- Automated “showing requests” 

- Landlord screening portals 

Most landlords now require: 

- email communication 

- ID photo uploads 

- scheduled viewings confirmed through text 

- fast response times 

For unhoused individuals using library computers that time out after 45 minutes, or a borrowed phone with no data plan, responding quickly enough becomes nearly impossible. A missed email can mean a missed viewing, and also a missed shot at stable housing. 

Disconnected from Employment, Healthcare, and Everyday Life 

A similar pattern emerges across employment and healthcare. The majority of London’s entry-level jobs require online applications, portals, or virtual onboarding modules. Even walk-in positions redirect applicants to “apply online.” Without a functioning email or data plan, individuals are excluded before they even have a chance to speak to an employer. Healthcare follows the same script: online appointment bookings, MyChart portals, and phone-based triage systems create hurdles that can’t be overcome without technology. When someone loses access to their phone, whether it be due to theft, damage, or simply a lack of charging stations, they also lose access to their doctor, test results, prescriptions, and referrals. 

The Geography of Connectivity in a City That Isn’t Built for It:

London’s digital landscape is uneven in ways that only become obvious to those who depend on public access. The downtown core offers pockets of Wi-Fi inside the Central Library, fast-food restaurants, or Western-affiliated spaces, but these come with time limits, purchase expectations, or safety concerns. Shelters rarely have enough outlets for everyone, creating long queues for charging devices. Transit access is also quietly digitized: reloadable cards and discount programs often require emails and online accounts. Someone who cannot check their card balance is more likely to be ticketed, pushing them further into legal and financial precarity. These gaps in connectivity become a geography of exclusion, creating zones where staying connected to the world is nearly impossible. 

Beyond logistics, there is a psychological reality to digital exclusion. Being unreachable isolates people from family, community, and even emergency services. It reinforces a painful message: that one’s presence is peripheral, easy to miss, easy to forget. In a city where services increasingly assume constant connectivity, people experiencing homelessness are forced to navigate a world designed without them in mind. Tackling homelessness in London means acknowledging that connection itself is a basic need. Without addressing the digital divide, providing accessible Wi-Fi, charging spaces, and affordable phone plans, the city will continue to leave its most vulnerable residents offline, unseen, and unsupported. 

Final Thoughts: Reframing Digital Access as a Basic Human Need 

Addressing homelessness in London requires more than expanding shelter beds or increasing funding, it requires acknowledging that digital access has become a prerequisite for participation in modern life. When housing applications, healthcare, employment, and even transit hinge on an internet connection, those without it are pushed further to the margins, even when resources technically exist. Ensuring that unhoused individuals have reliable access to Wi-Fi, charging stations, and basic phone plans isn’t a luxury or a bonus; it’s a foundational step toward restoring autonomy, dignity, and genuine opportunity. In a city striving for equity and compassion, connection should not be the dividing line between who can rebuild their life and who is left behind.