Volunteers canvass city, surveying Edmonton homeless
'There are many faces of homelessness in our city and the count allows us to understand its complexity'
Hundreds of volunteers canvassed the city Thursday in an attempt to understand the demographics of Edmonton's homeless population.
The 2016 homeless count, a 24-hour census overseen by Homeward Trust, began late Wednesday night.
Using a combination of paper and smartphone surveys, volunteers working in pairs, will speak with people they encounter on the streets and in shelters, drop-in centres and river valley encampments.
Homeward Trust CEO Susan McGee said the numbers may be affected by the economic downturn, widespread lay-offs and the devastation of the wildfires in Fort McMurray.
"There are many faces of homelessness in our city and the count allows us to understand its complexity," McGee said.
"Ensuring we're on track to end homelessness in Edmonton is one of the reasons why conducting this count is so important."
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A final report, which will be published in early 2017, will include information like how many children and youth are without homes.
McGee says the count not only provides an important snapshot of the city's most impoverished residents, but also builds empathy within the larger community.
"It builds awareness that we make assumptions maybe we shouldn't make about people that are homeless and how much they are struggling," said McGee.
"I know there are a lot of volunteers that went home last night with their own stories."
Of the people tallied in the count, 46 per cent were identified as indigenous, 72 per cent were male, and 29 per cent were children and youth.
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Those numbers spurred the creation of new front-line programming, including dedicated Housing First teams for teens and families, and a new homeless youth advisory council.
This year is the first time that seven of Alberta's largest cities — Calgary, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Fort McMurray — will be conducting their homeless counts on the same day.
The Edmonton count ends at 7 p.m. Thursday.