National Post

30 PER CENT INCREASE IN HOMELESSNE­SS IN METRO VANCOUVER

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Vancouver- area politician­s say more needs to be done to help homeless people in their region after the latest count shows a 30 per cent increase in three years. Initial results from Metro Vancouver’s 2017 homeless count show there were 3,605 people identified as being homeless on March 8, up 828 people from the last count in 2014. The census counts people staying in temporary housing such as shelters and on the street, but cautions that the actual number of homeless could be much higher. The count indicates Vancouver has the highest homeless population, at 2,138 people, followed by Surrey, with 602. Nicole Read, co- chairwoman of Metro Vancouver’s Regional Homelessne­ss Task Force, says there are now 70 makeshift camps in the region, showing there has been a “system-wide failure” affecting the community’s most vulnerable. Metro Vancouver is calling on the province to commit to the regional district’s homelessne­ss action plan, which includes opening 1,000 units of transition­al housing each year for the next three years.

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