Prior to coming to York University, Gaetz worked in the Community Health Sector, both at Shout Clinic (a health clinic for street youth in Toronto) and Queen West Community Health Centre in Toronto. His research has focused on the economic strategies, health, education and legal and justice issues of people who are homeless, as well as solutions to homelessness from both a Canadian and international perspective. Professor Gaetz continues to play a leading role internationally in knowledge dissemination in the area of homelessness. Under Professor Gaetz’s leadership, York played host to the Canadian Conference on Homelessness in 2005 – the first research conference of its kind in Canada.