More people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg: Street Census

The number of people who are experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg is on the rise.

Preliminary findings from Winnipeg Street Census 2018 have been released and show that 1,500 people were found to be experiencing homelessness in the city.

Nearly 300 volunteers took to the streets on April 18 over a 24-hour period, collecting data from shelters and walking nearly 120 kilometres of inner city streets.

Winnipeg’s first Street Census was completed in October 2015 and found 1,400 people were experiencing homelessness.

“It’s pretty disheartening to meet 1,500 people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg,” Josh Brandon from the Social Planning Committee of Winnipeg said. “That’s too many for a city like ours.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's pretty disheartening to meet 1,500 people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg," Josh Brandon from the Social Planning Committee of Winnipeg said. "That's too many for a city like ours."

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This year’s census found 14.3 per cent of the people experiencing homelessness were unsheltered, meaning they were staying in a public space like a park or tent, while nearly 24 per cent were using an emergency shelter.

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Brandon, who also authored the report, said not much has changed in the demographics.

It says more than 61 per cent of respondents identified as Indigenous. It also found more than 50 per cent of people interviewed had spent time in foster care growing up.

In 2015, 225 people under the age of 30 were experiencing homelessness, but in 2018, there were 367 people experiencing homelessness under the age of 29.

“That really is a signal,” Brandon said. “If we don’t look upstream and try to provide solutions for families for young people, we’re going to have a problem with homelessness into the coming decades.”

The report also said many more people are experiencing hidden homelessness or otherwise were not surveyed, which

“Fifteen hundred is a tip of the iceberg,” Jolene Wilson, who experienced homelessness for 15 years, said. “I’m grateful for the ones that did share their stories, but concerned for the ones that didn’t have their voices heard.”

She said listening and acting upon those stories is a way to make change.

“Folks on the street are the ones that know what they need. We need to stop telling them what they need and start listening to their needs.”

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A full report will be released in the fall.