Approximately 950 GoFundMe campaigns were created to support British Columbians at risk of, or facing, homelessness in the past year – a 12 per cent increase from the yearly five-year average.
An average of 852 campaigns were created each year over the past five years to support British Columbians with homelessness, according to data released by GoFundMe Tuesday (Oct. 15). The data was collected from campaigns between Sept. 12, 2019 to Sept. 12, 2024.
A total of 4,259 campaigns were created in that period, with 1,956 of those in the past two years.
In that same period, campaigns have raised a total of more than $4 million.
The 2023 homeless count identified 11,352 British Columbians experiencing homelessness, with more than two-thirds of those identified as being long-term residents of their communities.
The point-in-time count cited economic pressure, substance-use challenges and conflict as the main causes of housing loss.
GoFundMe's data also showed the cities with the highest number of homelessness-related campaigns were the same three cities with the highest number of cost-of-living related campaigns. Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria came in as the top three for both categories.
GoFundMe said Victoria is the "number one most generous community in Canada for 2023," which "could be a factor leading to a larger number of Victorians setting up GoFundMe campaigns" for homelessness.
For cost-of-living, the 2,386 GoFundMe campaigns raised more than $5.6 million in the past five years. More than $2.7 million was raised in the past two years.
A 2023 study from Westland Insurance reported that B.C. had the highest cost of living in the country.
While B.C.'s median income was the third-highest nationwide at $42,060, it was only 4.2 per cent of the local median house price.
