Community count to gauge homeless numbers

Volunteers spent Wednesday night fanning out throughout the downtown core and in regional parks in hopes of gaining a count of the city’s homeless numbers.

The 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count drew between 25 and 30 volunteers over the course of the day on Wednesday. The count is part of a national effort to gain a picture of the level of homelessness in communities throughout the country. Prince George hosted similar counts in 2008, 2010 and 2016. This year’s count was organized by the United Way of Northern British Columbia and by Community Partners Addressing Homelessness.

Since the wildfires of last summer, several shelter operators have reported observing a number of homeless indi- viduals who have remained in Prince George as a result of the evacuations in surrounding communities. Several shelters reported being full to capacity during the winter months this year.

Volunteers spent the day canvassing emergency shelters, transitional housing facilities and drop-in centres between 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., asking tenants if they spent the night in these facilities. An evening group focused on a sweep of areas in the Bowl, particularly in the downtown and outlying parks.

Individuals were asked a series of short questions to determine demographic information, such as age, gender, race and sexual orientation.

Point-in-Time coordinator Kerry Pateman said the information collected will be used by government decisionmakers in order to plan homeless programming.

“Hopefully with that data and the numbers on the street, the government uses that to say how many were absolutely homeless on that night. Of course it’s not everybody because it’s only the people we encounter on the street,” Pateman said.

Many individuals who would be considered homeless are difficult to enumerate in surveys, as many sleep on couches or in the homes of friends or family.

“This is the first time we’ve done it in the evening. A few years ago we did it earlier in the morning,” Pateman said.

A standard methodology for the count is used by community groups across the country, and counts are funded by the Government of Canada’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy.

Results will of the count will be released in the coming months.