Volunteers are finalizing arrangements for the first major homeless count on the Sunshine Coast in nearly 10 years.
The count will take place April 23, and local coordinator Jacob Taves said there’s been a great response to the call for volunteers as well as broad support in the community for making the count as successful as possible.
“I’ve got to hand it to people here. There’s been overwhelming support. I was contacted by local businesses and agencies who found out about the count and got in touch with me, before I even got to that point on my to-do list,” he said.
Taves said the count was originally going to encompass just the District of Sechelt, but they were able to convince the Homelessness Services Association of BC, which is managing the project for the province, to expand it to take in a zone from Sechelt to Gibsons.
While Taves said there is a known homeless population north of Sechelt, it wasn’t practical to include places like Pender Harbour this time around.
“Because of the lack of public transportation to and from Pender Harbour and other issues that disconnect the communities, we decided to focus the count and do a good job with the areas of Sechelt, Roberts Creek and Gibsons, which is still a large geographic area to be coordinating driving teams, walking teams and drop-ins,” he said.
The count will try to gather information on both the sheltered and unsheltered homeless. Sheltered homeless include people staying in shelters, safe houses or transition houses and anyone with no fixed address who is in jail, hospital or a detox or recovery program. The unsheltered homeless, meanwhile, are those living rough in the woods, in parks or on the streets as well as people staying on boats where they don’t pay a moorage fee, or in vehicles.
Volunteers will be collecting census-style details such as age and gender, and will also be asking people about their histories with homelessness.
Taves said that information can provide important insights, especially if it shows the majority of the local homeless fit a similar demographic. “That little bit of numerical data can tell us quite a lot as to economic pressures that demographic faces.”
Six drop-in sites will be set up with either meals or snacks and refreshments available.
• The Upper Deck Shelter at 5653 Wharf Ave. in Sechelt will be open from 9 a.m to 7 p.m., with a meal at 5 p.m.
• The Salvation Army at 682 Gibsons Way in Gibsons will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a meal served at 11 a.m.
• The drop-in locations offering snacks and refreshments are: the Sechelt Library at 5797 Cowrie St. (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.); the Integrated Case Management Office at the Sechelt Hospital Annex (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.); the Gumboot Café, 1053 Roberts Creek Road (7 a.m. to 1 p.m.); and the Gibsons Library at 470 S. Fletcher Road (10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).
The provincial government is spending $550,000 for the counts, which are also taking place in 11 other communities, and the Homelessness Services Association of BC will be analyzing and releasing the data.
“Although counts do not give us a full picture of the extent of homelessness, they do provide important information on the estimated number, key demographics and service needs of those experiencing homelessness,” said association executive director Celine Mauboules in a release announcing the counts last month.
“Using consistent methodology for the first coordinated count across the province is an excellent first step to better understanding and addressing the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.”
The NDP government has promised to present a homelessness action plan later this year.
