COUNTING THE HOMELESS
Federal government’s homelessness initiative takes place Thursday
Volunteers taking to the streets to count Cape Breton’s homeless.
In 2016, 137 homeless people were identified in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the majority were women.
“We didn’t realize how bad homelessness was around here until that count,” said Kimberly McPherson, co-ordinator of the Glace Bay Food Bank.
The Point-in-Time Count of homelessness is co-ordinated by the federal government.
Fifty-two per cent of the homeless in the CBRM were women.
“There’s a homeless shelter here for men but we don’t have any of these services for women. It’s critical to bring more awareness for funding to get women housed with their families.”
The Point-in-Time homeless count takes place in selected communities in every province and territory across Canada between March 1 and April 30.
The homeless counts provide information to participating communities about the homeless individuals and helps to identify their needs and plan community resources accordingly.
The information collected will also contribute to a national portrait of homelessness and support the federal government’s attempt to prevent and reduce homelessness.
On Thursday, McPherson said
the Glace Bay Food Bank will be joining other organizations in Cape Breton in a one-day count from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Volunteers will collect data from shelters, transitional housing facilities, police lockup, hospital emergency rooms and community drop-in centres and also walk the streets talking to people they meet.
Those whose circumstances fit the definition of homelessness will be asked to complete a 16-question interview about their experiences.
“There are a lot of couch surfers,” she said, adding she has been told of men living in the woods in the CBRM because they have dogs or a criminal history and can’t find housing.
McPherson said the 2016 count in the CBRM determined 88 per cent of the homeless were single adults and 38 per cent were under the age of 30. The homeless were sleeping in shelters, couch surfing, going from house-to-house between family and friends and some were living outside.
“When we did it in 2016 I can remember it was very
cold. There’s people living outside that we don’t even realize. wWe have emergency shelters, but they are filled most of the time.”
In an email response, Amelie Maisonneuve, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, said a total of 61 communities across Canada have been selected for the 2018 count to receive ongoing support through the Homelessness Partnering Strategy’s Designated Communities funding stream to address local homelessness issues.
Participating communities are responsible for reporting
local results. Participation in this count is voluntary. Communities are receiving additional funding to support their participation and a package of resources has been provided. A summary of the results is expected by the fall.
McPherson said volunteers will come from many Cape Breton organizations.
“We probably have 40-60 volunteers for Glace Bay. Our routes are planned out. When they get cold they come here for coffee, tea, water, sandwiches and snacks.”