A cart outside St. Peter's Church, which ran an overnight shelter and unfortunately closed as planned on March 30. (United Way Central and Northern Vancouver Island)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

PIT count

Homelessness count shows data behind escalating crisis on Nanaimo streets

Apr 8, 2020 | 11:38 AM

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.

Data from the count is used to guide service providers like the United Way Central and Northern Vancouver Island, the John Howard Society and BC Housing in how to grapple with the crisis.

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“We can begin to think as a region that helps homelessness,” count co-coordinator Andrew Thornton previously told NanaimoNewsNOW.

“Not just that Nanaimo is doing something, but the entire Vancouver Island system can collectively work together. We’re beginning to get a better understanding of how we can work across communities.”

The count involved teams going out into the community to find camps and also an event for those without a home to be counted and receive services.

It’s as accurate a picture as can be painted, but it’s not the whole story.

In the 2018 count, 335 people were officially counted, but officials estimated up to 400 people were actually without homes in Nanaimo.

Many service providers in the lead-up to the 2020 count made comments indicating they estimated up to 500 people were living on the street or in camps scattered across the community.

Yvonne Borrows, co-chair of the Nanaimo Homeless Coalition, said the count shows how vast the homelessness crisis is.

“The growing number of people experiencing homelessness just cements the fact that service providers are maxed our and more support is urgently needed.”

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