On March 25, 150 trained volunteers set out at 8 p.m. to survey the streets of Greater Victoria, aiming to provide a “snapshot of homelessness” in the region, explained Shelley Cook, executive director of the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria (CSPC).
Over 24 hours, surveyors will cover all 13 municipalities, speaking with people experiencing homelessness to better understand this regional phenomenon and its drivers.
“We’re trying to get a sense… as to why people have ended up on the streets or without permanent housing,” said Cook. “We know it's an undercount, but it really helps [us] to respond better in terms of our services as well as policy.”
During this year's Point in Time (PiT) Count, volunteers and non-profit organizations will ask people experiencing homelessness a range of questions.These include basic details like age, gender, and ethnic background, as well as more in-depth topics such as upbringing, potential connections to residential schools, or experiences with the foster care system.
The survey also looks beyond visible street homelessness.
In recent years, Cook and her team identified a concerning uptick in different trends of hidden homelessness. Despite acknowledging the efforts of housing non-profits and all levels of government to address these issues, she mentioned that many challenges remain.
Lately, vehicular homelessness has been on the rise, especially among people aged 55 and above, noted Cook.
“Vehicular homelessness has to do with people living in cars, RVs, and things that are not traditionally considered as typical living arrangements,” she said. “This is their last bastion to stave off homelessness.”
The ever-increasing cost of living is also pushing more and more families to the streets.
“Affordability is an increasing issue leading to homelessness. We're seeing families experiencing homelessness and unable to access shelter,” she said. “We’re seeing people – who are working – hanging on by their fingertips to stay housed.”
This trend equally affects younger folks.
“We're seeing a consistent uptick in the number of younger people, under the age of 19, on the streets,” said Cook. “We see UVic students… trying to go to class, trying to pay tuition and pay for their books while living right in the back of a van because they have no options around housing.
“If they chose housing, they wouldn't be able to afford to go to school. People are making incredibly difficult tradeoffs.”
Although the face of homelessness in Greater Victoria is multifaceted and constantly evolving, Cook and her team seek to capture the region’s needs at this point in time, to better understand and asses the situation.
“We're just seeing a really complex overlapping of health and social issues,” she said. “People have mental health [and/or] physical health concerns, so we're seeing a heightened acuity of needs that obviously speaks.”
The last PiT count (2023) found that at least 1,665 individuals were experiencing homelessness in Greater Victoria.
To learn more about CSPC or to donate, visit communitycouncil.ca. The results are expected to be released in July.
