The British Columbia government says results from the latest surveys of people living on the streets show current support levels aren’t enough and more services are needed to address rising homelessness.
A statement from the Housing Ministry says a count of the homeless conducted in 20 B.C. communities over a 24-hour period showed an increase compared with previous counts in 2020 and 2021.
There were 279 people found to be experiencing homelessness in Vernon this year, a 25 per cent compared to 224 in 2021.
In Merritt there were 67 people found to be experiencing homelessness, a 56 per cent increase from 43 in 2020, while in Salmon Arm there were 69 such people found, in what was the first count of its kind in that community.
Numbers were up 51 per cent in Williams Lake, from 51 in 2020 to 77 in 2023, while in Penticton there were 166 people experiencing homelessness, a 46 per cent increase from the 116 in 2021
The City of Kamloops is expected to release the results of its Point-in-Time Count later this month.
“There has been an increase, and it wasn’t surprising that there had been one but now we have the data to back up what I think people were anecdotally saying,” Community and Emergency Supports Supervisor, Natasha Hartson, said last month.
“So yes, the report will see an increase from 2021.”
The Homelessness Services Association of B.C. conducted the Greater Vancouver count and identified more than 4,800 people experiencing homelessness in 11 communities, a 32 per cent increase compared with the previous count in 2020.
Housing Minister Ravi Khalon says the results of the counts reinforce the government’s belief that more needs to be done to help the most vulnerable.
“Because of global inflation, cities across North America are seeing an increase in vulnerable populations,” he says in a statement that also touts the province’s Belonging in BC plan to reduce and prevent homelessness.
“While the plan was only introduced this past spring, we’ve started to implement it immediately in order to build a stronger B.C. for everyone by helping those struggling to stabilize their lives.”
This year’s count in Greater Vancouver was carried out on March 7, and the Homelessness Services Association says the 32 per cent increase is the largest between consecutive counts since they began counting 18 years ago.
It says the greatest percentage increases were recorded in Delta, Richmond and the Tri-Cities, while Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey saw the greatest changes in the total number of people experiencing homelessness.
In Surrey, officials released a statement saying the count found 1,060 people, “a marked increase” from 644 in the 2020 survey.
A statement from Lorraine Copas, chair of the advisory board that co-ordinates federal funding in Greater Vancouver through the Reaching Home program, notes that many people are experiencing “hidden homelessness” and they’re under-represented in the counts.
Data from the provincially funded community figures will be combined with five federally funded and two independent counts to produce the full 2023 report on homeless numbers set to be released this winter, the B.C. government added.
– With files from Radio NL
