John Howard Society tracking homelessness beyond P.E.I.'s urban centres

The John Howard Society is trying to determine the number of people on P.E.I. who are experiencing homelessness.

The last count in 2021 only looked at Summerside and Charlottetown. For the first time, the tally will include people across the whole Island, said executive director Keith Hillier.

He expects the numbers to be higher than the 147 unhoused individuals counted three years ago.

"There are homeless people, sadly, from tip to tip on this Island," Hillier said.

"Some of them may be more visible in the urban areas because we tend to see them in the downtown area. But that doesn't mean that there aren't homeless people in rural P.E.I."

The John Howard Society is non-profit organization that aims to "assist Islanders involved in the criminal justice process in the difficult transition from institutional to community living," though "more emphasis is being placed on crime prevention," according to its website.

In the summer, it said a recent survey suggested about 64 per cent of people released from jail have nowhere to live.

WATCH | Some inmates are being released into homelessness. Advocates say P.E.I. needs transitional housing:

Some inmates are being released into homelessness. Advocates say P.E.I. needs transitional housing

5 months ago

Duration 2:38

From April 2023 to March 2024 the John Howard Society of P.E.I. worked with 117 inmates who were released from the provincial correctional centre, 76 of whom were unable to find housing. CBC’s Tony Davis spoke with the society's president, Conor Mullin, about the benefits of having transitional housing on the Island and why it’s safer to release prisoners into a controlled environment.

Hillier spoke to a provincial legislative committee on Tuesday. He said if P.E.I. wants to tackle the issue of homelessness, it's important to to understand the extent of the problem.

The results of the count will be passed on to the federal government and released in the coming months.