City’s homeless numbers have doubled since 2018

By Lethbridge Herald on December 8, 2022.

Bicycles sit among makeshift tents setup along a fence Wednesday afternoon near the Lethbridge Shelter and Stabilization Centre. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

More than 400 people were experiencing homelessness in the city as of late September, results of a survey show.

The 2022 Point-in-Time Count, using data collected from local service organizations and shelters, show there were 454 homeless here on Sept. 27.

The City says the count indicates the minimum number of homeless living in Lethbridge.

The Point-in-Time Count was conducted by trained staff and more than 75 volunteers over a period of six hours who surveyed people staying in shelters, in short-term housing or were sleeping without shelter.

Results from the count will be used to improve the City’s response “by identifying service needs and informing plans to prevent and reduce homelessness,” says the City.

Survey results of the 454 who were counted show:

* 254 were surveyed or tallied through the unsheltered count. Nineteen of those indicated they had some place to stay but it was not permanent.

* 92 people were counted in shelter or stabilization beds.

* 108 were counted in transitional housing, treatment centres, police holding cells, Lethbridge Correctional Centre, or hospital.

Erin Mason, a data and reporting specialist with Community Social Development, said Wednesday at City Hall that “the main increase comes from the number of unsheltered individuals. In terms of the sheltered count we’re seeing similar numbers of people from 2018, 2021 and 2022.”

“In terms of what we’re seeing, in terms of our service providers, this number wasn’t totally unexpected. This is what we kind of heard in the community.”

Of unsheltered people surveyed, 72 per cent identified as Indigenous which the final report says is higher than the number of sheltered individuals (36 per cent).

That report, available at lethbridge.ca/csd, states the 454 people experiencing homelessness this year is double the 2018 count of 223.

A total of 79 per cent of unsheltered females identified as Indigenous compared to 68 per cent of males.

People who identified as Caucasian represented 14 per cent of the unsheltered population and 41 per cent of the sheltered.

The average age of survey respondents was 27 and the average number of days spent homeless in the past year was 254.

The top reasons reported for loss of shelter were substance abuse, a lack of income for housing, eviction, conflict with roommates or partners, unsafe or unfit housing, relocation, the departure of a family member, as well as mental health, incarceration and abuse.

Nine per cent said COVID-19 had contributed to their situation.

Seventy per cent said they’d stayed in a homeless shelter in the last year.Of the 72 respondents who indicated that they had not stayed in a homeless shelter in the past year, 23 (32%) indicated it was because they had somewhere else to stay.

Forty-nine said fear of safety, bed bugs or other pests, cleanliness and the presence of substance use were among the reasons they didn’t stay in a shelter in the past year.

Forty-one per cent of survey respondents said they’d lived in the city for more than five years or didn’t know. A total of 25 per cent indicated they’d always lived here. A total of 84 people have moved to Lethbridge in the past five years with 69 of those coming from elsewhere in the province. Forty per cent of those said they came here to access services and supports while 21 per cent moved to Lethbridge to visit friends or family.

Lethbridge is the first of seven Alberta cities to release its data from the survey.

The report shows while the number of sheltered people has remained similar since 2018 – 211 in that year compared to 200 in 2022 – the number of unsheltered individuals has grown from seven in 2018 to 235 in 2022.

“The 2022 PiT Count results underscore the need for additional provisional accommodation in the form of transitional housing and treatment spaces, as well as emergency shelter spaces to accommodate the large increase of homeless individuals in Lethbridge in recent years,” says the report.

“The circumstances that lead to homelessness are incredibly diverse with some people identifying as being homeless from infancy to experiencing it for the first time as a senior. The top reasons stated for most recent housing loss were substance use/mental health issues, lack of income for housing, eviction, conflict, or unsafe/unfit housing. The top challenges to finding housing were low income/rent too high, addiction/mental health issues, discrimination and no income assistance,” the report adds.

Surveys were conducted on 14 street count zones in the city and concentrated on downtown.

Through the 2022 administrative count, 200 people were experiencing sheltered homelessness here with most (36 per cent) being in emergency shelters or the stabilization shelter, transitional housing facilities (26 per cent), Lethbridge Correctional Centre (16 per cent), violence against women shelter (10 per cent) and treatment/detox facilities (nine per cent).

The report says “when interpreting data for transitional housing facilities, it is important to note that although these facilities have been identified as sheltered homelessness, transitional housing does represent stable living for many people and the living conditions do not necessarily match those of other less stable temporary housing options such as emergency shelters.”

More than 65 communities across Canada, including Lethbridge, participated in the third nationally co-ordinated PiT.

The Alberta 7 Cities on Housing and Homelessness co-ordinated elements of the count including date and time to allow comparability.

Those seven cities include Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie as well as the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, the Calgary Homeless Foundation, Homeward Trust Edmonton and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

7 Cities has been working to end homelessness since 2001. Its website said Alberta was the first province with a plan to end homelessness, a plan that has been recognized nationally for its success.

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