A new federally funded report shows the homeless population in Metro Vancouver has risen nine per cent over the last two years, with the largest increase in those living outdoors without protection from the elements.
The Point-in-Time Homeless Count was conducted by the Homelessness Services Association of BC and Infocus Consulting and found that 5,232 in Metro Vancouver were experiencing homelessness as of March.
That number is up from the 4,821 people identified in a count in 2023, and the report's authors say the numbers indicate there isn't enough shelter space in the urban region.
David Wells, chair of the Indigenous Homelessness Steering Committee for Greater Vancouver, says in a statement that the report's findings are a call for "governments at all levels to prioritize homelessness prevention."
Wells also says the numbers put the issue of Indigenous homelessness in the spotlight, as 54 per cent of the Indigenous respondents to the survey said they were unsheltered — living outdoors without protection — versus 42 per cent of non-Indigenous respondents who were in the same situation.
The report counts individuals without a fixed address in Metro Vancouver, including those in emergency homeless shelters, transition or safe houses, or temporarily hospitalized or incarcerated.
“We’re releasing this high-level preliminary data now because it is incredibly valuable for organizations, support services, and policy-makers to be aware of as they plan, fund and operationalize their programming," says Lorraine Copas, chair of the Greater Vancouver Community Advisory Board for Reaching Home — another group involved in the report's release.
“We know that homelessness is growing at a much faster rate than population growth in the region, and this indicates that shelter capacity is insufficient,” Copas says in the release.
