Vancouver's homeless count rises to highest number since survey began

The number of homeless people in Vancouver continues to rise, in spite of the city's new modular housing complexes.

The city released its 2019 homelessness count in a staff reporton Wednesday, which showed2,223 people who identified as homeless.

That figure is up two per cent from 2018,when 2,181 people were counted. This is the fourth straight year the number has gone up.

"We are seeing a slower growth in the numbers. The actions taken by the city and seniorlevels of government are having an impact," saidCeline Mauboules, Vancouver's director of homelessness services.

"But homelessness in Vancouver is at its highest number since the count began."

Vancouver conducted its annual count over the course of two days in March, with 400 volunteers surveying people sleeping on the streets and staying in emergency shelters.

A voluntary and anonymous questionnaire askedpeople in shelters how longthey had been without a home, as well as their age, gender, ethnicityand health concerns.

The full report can be readhere.

No conclusion why numbers went up

Around half of those identified through the countfilled out a survey,giving the city demographic and geographic information about its homeless population.Of the survey's respondents:

• 39 per cent said they were Indigenous(compared to twoper cent of the city's overall population)
• 44 per cent said they had a mental health condition or illness
• 38 per cent said they had a physical disability
• 81 per cent said they lived in the City of Vancouver before they became homeless.

But the report didn't examine the reasons why the number of homeless people increased, despite more than 600modular housing units being built since September2017.

"I think the reason it hasn't [gone down] is there's so many shelter rate units that have closed," said Coun.Jean Swanson, referencing the closure of the Balmoral and Regent hotels, along with other shuttered Single Resident Occupancy units that housed people at shelter rates.

"This is a real humanitarian crisis that's totally unnecessary."

Abigail Bond,Vancouver'sdirector of affordable housing, said the city "doesn't have all the specifics in the change in the SRO stock," and hasn't"seen the impact on the numbers counted in the community, but inour perspective it's still a vital part of the solution."

Federal and provincial help

Mayor Kennedy Stewart said "we're all devastated" by the increased numbers, but was adamant the city's modular housing strategy was effective given the lack of alternatives for people unable to find affordable housing.

"They'd be on the street. The devastating impact [of the affordability crisis] would be so much worse if it weren't for the modular housing," he said.

"We just need to keep doing this. It comes from chronic underinvestment in housing."

Stewart whose campaign promise to create a renter's office in the City of Vancouver was passed by council earlier Wednesday called on the federal governmentto provide more funding, highlighting the commitment made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017 to cut homelessness inhalf in a decade.

"Ifyou make a pledge to halvethe homelessness rate, you have to start working on this now, it can't be just talk," Stewart said.

"It all depends on the prime minister. If the prime minister comes through with his investments, then it could make a dent."

But the mayor also said the city need to continue to put money toward the problem.

"What we're doing is expensive.But these are our neighbours, and they need help," he said.