Homeless count provides snapshot of those living on Metro Vancouver’s streets

Almost 1,000 volunteers have taken to the streets for the homeless count in Metro Vancouver.

This year’s survey began at midnight and runs for 24 hours.

Volunteers count people in shelters and on the street, and also record their age, gender and health concerns.

Organizers say the 24-hour period gives them a snapshot of the people who are homeless. It also allows them to get a sense of whether the population is increasing or decreasing.

Governments also rely on data from the counts to make decisions about funding and service levels.

This survey has run every three years since it first began in 2002.

The City of Vancouver also does an annual count, which provides them with an idea of reaching their goal to end street homelessness by 2015. The city says street homelessness has gone down by 66 per cent from 2008 to 2013, but the number of people in shelters is going up.

“I know that the shelters are there as a very temporary measure, to try and get people to have some safety or security or warmth overnight,” says Vancouver councillor Adriane Carr. “But when people are saying that they don’t feel comfortable in them, that they’re either too dirty, or it’s too crowded, or as women, I had a woman say it just doesn’t feel safe for her, you know, it is an eye-opener.”

“They are no solution.”