Homelessness count shows data behind escalating crisis on Nanaimo streets
NANAIMO — Early results from a homeless census in Nanaimo confirms what many people already know.
Preliminary data from the Nanaimo point-in-time count, run by the Nanaimo Region of the John Howard Society in partnership with many service providers, showed the number of people experiencing homelessness jumped 25 per cent.
Initial data from the March 12 count “suggested homelessness is at its highest, with at least 425 people living unsheltered in Nanaimo.”
The 2018 count had roughly 335 people considered absolutely homeless, which doubled the 2016 numbers at 174.