Nanaimo's homeless population continues going up, while advocates hope more help is on the way. (file photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

alarming numbers

‘We’ve basically tripled since 2016:’ Nanaimo homeless census sees significant rise

Apr 9, 2024 | 12:48 PM

NANAIMO — To nobody’s surprise, the number of unsheltered people in Nanaimo has surged significantly.

A final report on the 2023 Nanaimo Point-in-Time Count & Survey showed 515 people were unhoused in Nanaimo, which census coordinator Andrew Thornton said is a number that likely only represents about 60 per cent of reality.

“We’ve basically tripled since 2016. It is dire, but not quite as dire is that it’s gotten really bad everywhere in Canada.”

Thornton told a Monday, April 8 Nanaimo City Council meeting an estimated 800 to 1,000 people are believed to be currently homeless in the Nanaimo area.

Nanaimo’s homeless population has surged in recent years. (2023 Nanaimo Point-in-Time Count & Survey)

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Late last April, an event drew Nanaimo’s homeless community to a downtown church, while canvassers spent the day scouring known places where homeless gather all over the city to collect data on their individual circumstances.

Thornton said 80 per cent of respondents were categorized as chronically homeless and didn’t have access to shelter on a daily or nightly basis.

He said the Nanaimo census results had the highest percentage of people living in environments unfit for human habitation in the entire country, highlighting a severe lack of various housing supports compared to other communities.

“This is one of the things that drives the public perception of homelessness in Nanaimo is the fact that there are so many people on the streets of Nanaimo because we don’t have enough, or even near enough, shelter spaces.”

In late January the province announced funding for 100 additional temporary housing units in Nanaimo (Newcastle Place on Terminal Ave. and Chase River) to provide interim housing solutions.

Seventy-five percent of homeless census respondents reported last spring to having addiction challenges.

The number of homeless in Nanaimo reporting brain injuries shot up dramatically from the 2020 count (80 to 127), representing a nearly 40 per cent surge.

Health outcomes for the unhoused living rough are understandably poor, Thornton said during his presentation.

“On average the people who responded to the survey said they had at least three health challenges, many had four or five.”

Thornton said nearly 60 per cent of census participants reported visiting the emergency department in the previous year.

A variety of physical and mental health challenges are plaguing Nanaimo’s homeless community (2023 Nanaimo Point-in-Time Count & Survey)

In response to a question from coun. Erin Hemmens, Thornton believed local homeless populations under-represented in the data are women, Indigenous populations and youth.

Despite the belief many Indigenous people are under represented in the census, 151 people identified in the Nanaimo area as homeless were indigenous, roughly one third of the count despite only being roughly six per cent of the local Indigenous population.

As for challenges in obtaining housing, census respondents reported the top prohibited factors were: lack of income, rent prices, substance use, discrimination and family breakdown.

Nanaimo’s homeless population reported several challenges in obtaining housing. (2023 Nanaimo Point-in-Time Count & Survey)

Thornton pointed out a Rent Bank funded by the City of Nanaimo saved at least 100 people from eviction last year.

The program provides interest free, short-term loans of up to $2,000 for people having trouble paying rent.

The City of Nanaimo last year committed to boosting a rental supplement program to help vulnerable people stay housed.

Thirty-five per cent of survey respondents reported their most recent housing loss was eviction.

A vast majority of Nanaimo’s homeless population are men between the ages of 35 to 55.

The federal government is funding another Point-In-Time Count across the country this year, likely in October, since the COVID-19 pandemic restricted data collection efforts.

Thornton, who also represents an advocacy organization to house the local homeless population (Nanaimo Systems Planning Organization Society), said the census effort helps provide information to advocate the provincial and federal governments for increased support.

“The data helps, but we need action.”

The full 2023 Nanaimo Point-in-Time Count & Survey can be viewed here.

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