More people are living on local streets, or in emergency shelters, in Nanaimo than ever before, according to a new count. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

increased challenges

‘A conservative minimum:’ count in Nanaimo highlights growing number of people living rough

Jul 22, 2025 | 5:32 AM

NANAIMO — More people are unhoused, or living in precarious situations, than ever before in the city.

Data from a Point-in-Time (PIT) count conducted at the end of November 2024 was presented to Nanaimo City Councillors on Monday, July 21, showing 621 people living either unsheltered, or in emergency-type shelters.

Community consultant Jon Rabeneck told Councillors Monday the published number represents just a small percentage of all those out there who need help, calling it “a conservative minimum”.

“This isn’t a catch-all of everybody, these are folks who were engaged with the process itself, “Rabeneck said. “This approach, being built on the belief that everybody counts and until we count everyone with care and dignity we can’t build systems that truly work for everybody. These aren’t just numbers…these are human stories and human beings behind them.”

The PIT count is designed to get a snapshot of the situation across Nanaimo on a particular day, not necessarily represent the scope of challenges overall.

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Regardless, numbers have surged over the last eight years with a count in winter 2016 recording 174 people.

According to surveys of those contacted for the PIT count, around one third were Indigenous.

“Our findings showed that the homelessness is a direct and ongoing legacy of colonization,” Rabeneck said. “Over one in three people that we counted identified as Indigenous, despite StatCan and the latest census in 2021 showing only eight per cent of Nanaimo’s population being Indigenous.”

Seventy-four per cent of respondents reported addiction challenges, while two-thirds said they had a mental health condition.

Half said they had physical mobility challenges.

Rabeneck said rising costs, household conflict or abuse and violence were seen as the main factors behind leaving stable housing.

“The system that’s presented in front of here really emphasizes the need for culturally safe housing that embeds primary care, harm reduction and mental wellness supports. What we can see is people keep cycling between sidewalk, ER and even the morgue and problems will only compound if they’re not addressed in an Indigenous-led way.”

Food services were the most sought-after type of outreach, with a vast majority accessing food banks or soup kitchens to get by.

Use of emergency medical care through hospital or local clinics was also highly reported, as were harm-reduction services.

Rabeneck added the data also helps dispel the myth a majority of Nanaimo’s homeless are transplants from other communities.

Over three quarters of those surveyed said they’d been in Nanaimo for at least five years, and around half of those people were lifelong locals.

A majority of people had spent between six and 12 months in the last year homeless.

The Nov. 26, 2024 PIT count was conducted by Snuneymuxw First Nation, in partnership with Island Health, the City of Nanaimo and United Way of B.C., along with local frontline organizations.

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