Aboriginal homeless rate hits new high

The proportion of Aboriginal people who are homeless in Metro Vancouver has hit a record high, according to a new Aboriginal homeless report.

The report, which is based on the 2017 homeless count in Metro, found First Nations people were overrepresented among the homeless population, accounting for 34 per cent of the homeless in the region, despite making up 2.5 per cent of the population.

“This 2017 homeless count in Metro Vancouver underscores what we already know: that Aboriginal people are disproportionately affected by homelessness and that fewer of them are accessing shelter,” said David Wells, chairman of the Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee.

“Low-income, urban, Aboriginal people are struggling to survive in an environment where housing is unaffordable and the cost of living continues to climb.”

The count, conducted in a 24hour period on March 8, found 746 people who were living on the streets or in shelters who identified as Aboriginal — a 28 per cent jump from the last count in 2014 and the highest ever recorded in the regional count, both in terms of numbers and as a proportion of the population.

The largest concentrations of Aboriginal homeless are in Vancouver and Surrey.

Wells said one finding that struck him is the larger proportion of Aboriginal homeless who are unsheltered or living on the streets: about 61 per cent of the “mainstream” homeless were found in shelters during the count, compared with 48 per cent of those who are Aboriginal.

“It speaks to the fact that shelter systems aren’t aligned or working as an intermediary measure for Indigenous people,” Wells said. “There is not a level of take up or use for those shelter services.”

That may be in part because Aboriginal people who are homeless tend to skew toward families, while shelters are usually set up for individuals, Wells said. There could also be a cultural variable in play where support systems at shelters aren’t attuned to Aboriginal needs.

The report attributes the causes of Aboriginal homelessness to a range of barriers faced by the Indigenous population, such as poverty, racism and intergenerational trauma stemming from systemic and historical factors.

The high cost of housing in Metro is also a factor, the report said.