Across Canada for the past few weeks, volunteers have been going across cities and counting the number of homeless people.
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, today announced the launch of Everyone Counts: the second nationally-coordinated Point-in-Time (PiT) Count of homelessness.
These counts take place over a 24 hour period in each city to give a snapshot of the situation.
While they can’t give a precise picture, as many homeless hide their situation well such as young people doing things like couch surfing, it does provide a good general picture of the situation and how it is changing over the years.
Last year in Montreal alone, some 3,000 homeless men and women were counted.
In Winnipeg for example, about 300 volunteers roamed streets and alleys in the city and suburbs. In last year’s count there were some 1,500 people without a fixed address or living on the streets.
By knowing the number and changing demographics of homelessness, policies can be better targetting to helping people. Photo: iStock
In Vancouver in 2016, they identified a total of 1,847, of which 539 were living on the street (29%).
In Edmonton Alberta, the count in 2008 showed just over 3,000 homeless. This initiated a city “Plan to End Homelessness”. The plan has shown success as the count in 2016 showed a reduction to 1,752.
The PiT counts will provide vital information to participating communities about individuals experiencing homelessness, helping to identify their needs and plan community resources accordingly. The information collected will also contribute to a national portrait of homelessness and support the Government of Canada’s ongoing work in preventing and reducing homelessness.
additional information-sources
- Government of Canada: Everyone Counts.
- CTV-Apr 25.18: Montreal’s second homeless count
- CBC: B Shingler: Apr 24/18: Montreal counts those on the street
City of Vancouver: 2018: homeless count
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