A by-the-numbers look at the people who use emergency homeless shelters
OTTAWA — The federal government has released new numbers about shelter usage in Canada that show fewer people are staying in shelters, but those stays are getting longer. The study provides details for the first time about veterans and aboriginals. Here are some of the key numbers from the report:
136,866: Estimated number of shelter users in 2014
156,030: Estimated number of shelter users in 2005
5,057,813: Estimated number of times a shelter bed was used in 2014