Homelessness continues to rise in city

Point in Time survey conducted March 10 finds 4% increase

A survey of Kelowna's homeless population shows there were 297 people sleeping rough this spring.

That’s up four per cent from a similar survey done two years ago, and represents an increase of 28 per cent from four years ago.

One in five of the homeless counted in early March was an Indigenous person, and 90 per cent were between the ages of 25 and 64.

Almost three-quarters of those who were counted said they’d been homeless for six months or more.

Top five reasons given for being homeless were household conflict, not having enough money for housing, substance use issues, landlord conflict, and illness or medical condition.

The count was conducted on the night of March 10, when the daytime high was 4 C and the overnight low was minus-6 C. More than 70 volunteers from a range of health and social service organizations counted the homeless they could find around Kelowna.

Those sleeping outside, as well as in facilities like the Kelowna Gospel

Mission and other temporary shelters, were counted. Most of those facilities were at or near capacity.

Thirty per cent of homeless people said they had been in Kelowna less than one year.

“Except for those who identified that they moved to Kelowna to access emergency shelter, it is difficult to discern if these individuals lost their housing prior to moving to Kelowna, or once they had arrived,” the summary of the survey, called a Point in Time count, states. “Regardless, these results may indicate that new residents to Kelowna are struggling to find employment and affordable housing,” the summary states.