Taking stock of York Region’s ‘hidden homeless’ population

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 17, 2015
By Lisa Queen  

Homelessness is a growing concern in York Region, according to social service officials and poverty activists, but just how many people without a place to call home live in the region?

In a first-ever for York, a small army of as many as 150 volunteers will fan out over the region during a 24-hour period late next month to tally as many homeless people as they can find in shelters and living outside.

The hidden homeless, those people who are “couch surfing” with friends and family during that period, will not be included.

The point-in-time count will provide an estimated snapshot of how many people are homeless in the region over a one-night and one-day period, said Pedro Barata, vice-president of communications and public affairs with United Way Toronto and York Region, which is overseeing the initiative. 

The United Way is responsible for administering federal funding in the region through a homelessness partnering strategy and co-ordinates an advisory group that includes people who have experienced homelessness, community agencies, policing services, the region and other groups.

”This (count) will allow us to look at two particular groups. The first one is sheltered people who are in a whole variety of emergency shelters, violence against women shelters, individuals who may be in transitional housing, young people in youth shelters,” Barata said.

“The second group is really the unsheltered homeless and those are people who are living in the rough or outdoors, in bus shelters, in ravines, often away from sight.”

Tom Vegh, executive director of Inn from the Cold, which is involved in the project, applauded the count.

“I think it’s an excellent idea and about time. It will give us our first fairly accurate count of the homeless. It’s not going to capture everyone, it’s a bit of a variable population,” he said.

The United Way is holding three information sessions next month for volunteers who want to help with the count.

“This is a big effort. It’s the first time we’re doing it and we’re going to rely on volunteers that night and that day to really help us run this volunteering effort and conduct a short survey with people who are homeless,” Barata said.

“It’s very important we do this right.”

York is one of 30 communities taking part in the count.

“This is the first time such a count is being done in York Region and it’s also the first nationally co-ordinated effort to really measure homelessness in Canada,” Barata said.

“We’re quite excited about this because we know that homelessness is an issue that is real in the Greater Toronto Area, including in York Region. In order to really understand what’s happening and what the situation is, what are the root causes and how do they play out in terms of people’s circumstances, this will be a tool that will really benchmark the situation in York.”

Agencies will be able to use information from the count to improve their services, Barata said.

“I think it will allow us to target interventions where they’re needed most, which is very important,” he said.

“And very importantly, it will introduce some accountability in terms of how are we doing in providing the benchmark against which we can measure progress in coming years.”

Residents may be surprised to learn the extent of homelessness in the region, Vegh said.

“I think the public will be surprised because it is somewhat invisible here in York Region. The simple reason for that is York Region has a lot of land. In Toronto, it’s very difficult to stay out of sight if you’re homeless,” he said.

“There are (in York Region) what we refer to as tent cities etc.  They (people who are homeless) are not always on the sidewalk in front of you. Just because we have so much land here, they are afforded a bit of anonymity. So, I think for that reason, I think (residents) will be surprised with the number because it’s just not in your face the way it is in a larger urban centre.”

The dates of the count are not being publicly released, but the project will take place in late January.