The basement of St. Peter's church was home to a magnet event where those experiencing homelessness received clothes, food, a haircut and more. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

better understanding

Point-in-time count hopes to accurately portray homelessness crisis in Nanaimo

Mar 13, 2020 | 7:05 AM

NANAIMO — Outreach workers and service providers were in the field taking surveys of Nanaimo’s homeless population in an effort to better understand the crisis they’re trying to fix.

The second point-in-time count in two years happened on Thursday, March 12. Outreach teams combed through forests and bush to visit camps while service providers held an event in the basement of St. Peter’s Church to offer help and fill out surveys.

The final number tallied by the organizers will be used to guide policy and better inform organizations at the frontline of the homelessness crisis.

Adam Collishaw led the teams working in the community to visit every person they could and said it was a “surprising” day.

“We had identified a bunch of camps in the community and by the time we got there, people had moved on from those camps. I expected to see more just because of what we see in the downtown core.”

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He speculated many people who are without a home would still be given a survey at the St. Peter’s Church event or in the offices of service providers they were visiting.

Collishaw said the point-in-time count was a positive experience for all involved despite the stigma surrounding homelessness in the community.

“Not only the people we engaged with but just people who saw us doing the surveys. People were like ‘Yes, we need to do this, we need to get an idea of how many homeless are in our community to offer services, to have an understanding.'”

Delaney Gunn with Literacy Central Vancouver Island said the magnet event in the basement of St. Peter’s Church was also a positive event.

“Everyone is super friendly and excited to be here,” Gunn said.

Food, financial assistance, clothes and a haircut were all provided for those who needed it the most.

Gunn said people of all walks of life and in all conditions being welcomed with open arms will have a continued positive impact.

“What I love about this space is it’s completely low-barrier. You can walk in here with nothing at all, no plans, no agenda and connect with folks who are here to support you.”

The 2018 point-in-time homeless count showed up to 400 people were considered absolutely homeless in Nanaimo. Since that time, temporary housing was installed at two sites in Nanaimo to house roughly 150 people.

These counts happen all over Canada.

The Oceanside point-in-time count is scheduled for mid-April.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit