Thursday, November 29, 2007

MORE THAN 10,000 HOMELESS IN BC-SURVEY SHOWS

A survey conducted by Opposition Critic for Homelessness, David Chudnovsky, shows that there are a minimum of 10,580 homeless people in BC. Front line workers across the province, in more than 60 municipalities reported on their local situations.

Chudnovsky wrote to the Minister Responsible for Homelessness, Rich Coleman asking for government figures on homelessness. When no response was received Chudnovsky’s office took on the task of contacting cities and municipalities across the province.

What follows are the results of the survey:

City- Homeless Count*
Abbotsford- 400
Armstrong- 0
Burnaby- 180
Campbell River- 35
Castlegar/Trail- 10
Chetwynd- 30
Comox Valley- 200
Cowichan Valley (Duncan)- 200
Cranbrook- 50
Dawson Creek- 100
Delta** -11
Fernie- 20
Fort Saint James -125
Fort Saint John -100
Fraser Valley ( Hope, Chilliwack, Mission)- 184
Grand Forks -30
Hazelton- 0
Houston-20
Kamloops- 300
Kelowna- 279
Kitimat- 0
Langley- 100
Lillooet- 20
Lower Sunshine Coast- 200
Mackenzie- 0
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows- 80
Merritt/Princeton- 30
Nanaimo- 225
Nelson- 250
New Westminster**- 92
North Shore- 200
Oliver- 100
Osoyoos- 20
Parksville/Qualicum- 10
Penticton- 130
Port Alberni- 112
Port Hardy and Port Mcneil- 75
Powell River- N/A
Prince George- 1050
Prince Rupert- 80
Queen Charlotte Islands- 50
Quesnel- 40
Richmond**- 33
Salmon Arm/Sicamous/Enderby- 100
Saltspring- 23
Smithers- 50
Squamish and surrounding area- 200
Summerland- N/A
Surrey**- 371
Terrace- 35
Tri Cities- 200
Vancouver- 2300
Vanderhoof- N/A
Vernon- 150
Victoria- 1550
Whistler and surrounding area- 200
Williams Lake- 130
100 Mile House- 0
___________
TOTAL 10580

*Except when otherwise noted, these numbers are estimates provided by front line workers who deal with homelessness in each community on a daily basis. In many cases, they have given assurances that the numbers are minimum estimates.
**The numbers for these metro Vancouver municipalities are taken from the outdated 2005 count. In all other metro municipalities the number of homeless since that time has increased by a minimum of 78%. If we were to project that minimum increase on these 4 municipalities, it would increase the total by 891.
For detailed survey results please visit http://www.davidchudnovsky.bc.ca/

1 comment:

Mark Groen said...

There are lots of people that aren't seen by the govt. workers, myself included. Been living in the car since the summer on Bowen Island. I moved back to it after a position on the mainland didn't work out and the island is familiar and safe.

Find getting help from the govt. can be more stressful than not, and my income is what you might call low for some years.