On April 17, Lift Community Services is partnering with Homelessness Services Association of BC (HSABC) to administer qathet Region’s first Homeless Count, as one of 20 communities in the 2023 Homeless Count in BC.
In recent years, due to low rental occupancy rates, increasing housing costs and a rising cost of living, homelessness has become a more visible issue in the qathet region, but up until now there has been no data on how many people are experiencing homelessness, according to a media release from Lift Community Services.
“The homeless count is an opportunity to get much-needed data about people’s experiences with homelessness in qathet, and validate what we already know about housing needs,” stated Julie Jenkins, Lift’s housing services manager.
Jenkins added that the individuals the count hopes to connect with are not just those camping in the woods, or accessing the local emergency shelter.
“For the purpose of this count, ‘homeless’ includes people couch-surfing, living in their cars, or anyone who doesn’t have a place to pay rent," stated Jenkins.
The count takes place over 24 hours on April 17 and intends to capture a snapshot of homelessness in the region. Eligible individuals are invited to complete a short survey about their housing situation. Lift will have tables in the Powell River Public Library foyer and outside the Community Resource Centre all day, for anyone who does not have a place to pay rent to drop-by and complete the survey. There’s also a phone line where individuals can call and complete the survey over the phone.
SUSTAIN (Substance User's Society Teaching Advocacy Instead of Neglect) co-founder and poverty reduction advocate Dan Snell, who grew up in Powell River, remembers knowing that there were homeless people in town.
“I knew there were people living in the bushes, but I knew of maybe two people who were homeless," stated Snell. "Not personally, but when you saw them around town you knew that that guy was homeless, and that guy was homeless.”
It wasn’t until Snell was homeless himself that he had a better sense of the extent of the issue in the qathet region.
“After becoming homeless myself, I discovered that we have more homeless people than I originally thought," he stated. "There’s a lot more people living in bushes and in their cars than you might think.”
Snell has now been housed for nearly four years, and is glad to see this initiative happening in the community.
“It’s essential for budgeting for the problem," he added. "If you want to assign resources to combat homelessness you need to know what you’re dealing with.”
HSABC administers Homeless Counts in 20 communities throughout the province on behalf of BC Housing and the provincial ministry of housing. Data from the provincial counts, including qathet region’s, will be combined with nine other counts funded by the federal government and independent sources, to produce a provincial summary comprising 29 communities. A report will be released in the fall.
