More people are living outdoors in 91原创 than ever, according to a just-released breakdown of numbers from the March Metro Vancouver Homeless Count.
While the overall number of homeless people in 91原创 City and Township was about the same from the previous count, conducted in 2017 (209 compared to 206 three years ago), the number of so-called 鈥渦nsheltered鈥� people was up by 26 per cent, according to the issued by the BC Non-Profit Housing Association on Nov. 26, 2020.
Of the 209 counted in the Township and City, more than half, 108, were designated 鈥渦nsheltered鈥� meaning they stayed outside, defined as 鈥渋n a makeshift shelter or tent, in a vacant building, in a vehicle, or were staying temporarily indoors (couch-surfing) on the night of March 3.鈥�
That represents an increase of 29 unsheltered from 2017, when 79 were counted.
READ ALSO: More than 200 remain homeless on 91原创 streets
Fraser Holland, director of homelessness services at in 91原创, said the short-term lease of a 91原创 hotel early on in the pandemic will help reduce the number the unsheltered.
鈥淚t should,鈥� Holland told the 91原创 Advance Times.
But there are more of them, he noted.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a lot more new faces,鈥� he commented.
Holland said provincial funding allowed the lease of the Canadas Best Value Inn on 6722 Glover as a temporary shelter until early next year.
Holland explained the single site, which can accommodate about 50 people, was selected 鈥渞ather than having people scattered over four or five places.鈥�
Kim Snow, of the outreach assistance agency that distributes food and other necessities to the homeless in 91原创, believes if anything, the situation is worse than those numbers indicate.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 go where we go,鈥� she said of the volunteers who carried out the one-day count, whereas her volunteers are in regular contact with homeless people.
Snow was seeing more and more people living outdoors before the pandemic struck, and she believes the arrival of COVID-19 has made matters even worse.
Before, one homeless person could rent a place and share it with several others to save money, but now, with landlords setting limits on numbers because of COVID-19, there are far fewer options, Snow explained, and the result is more people on the street with no place to sleep.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing people that we have not seen before,鈥� Snow remarked.
鈥淟ast week, there were 13 new faces [of people assisted by Kimz Angels].鈥�
READ ALSO: How two 12-year-olds helped the homeless in 91原创
Data for the 2020 cont was collected over a 24 hour period to give a snapshot of homeless in the region.
A total of 3,634 people were identified as experiencing homelessness in the Metro Vancouver region during the 2020 count.
The largest numbers of people experiencing homelessness were found in Vancouver (2,095), followed by Surrey (644) and 91原创 (209).
Indigenous people were over-represented, making up one in four of the homeless counted in 91原创.
David Wells, Chair of the Indigenous Homelessness Steering Committee (IHSC) said Indigenous people account for more than a third of all homeless peoples in Metro Vancouver.
鈥淭he situation is not improving with more than half of homeless Indigenous Peoples living in an unsheltered situation, which is twice that of non-Indigenous people,鈥� Wells said.
鈥淭he situation is even more dire as we all look to take shelter from COVID.鈥�
This was the first homeless count where individuals were asked whether they identified with any racial group or groups.
It found that Black people were 3.7 times more likely to experience homelessness compared to what their presence in the general population would predict.
Latin American and Arab respondents were also over-represented, with Latin Americans being 1.7 times and Arabs 1.3 times more likely to experience homelessness.
More seniors and young people are ending up without places to live, with people 55 and older, represented 24 per cent of the homeless population overall, up from 22 per cent three years ago.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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