Homeless count underway

Five local municipalities are teaming up to count the number of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
 
The County of Grande Prairie is working with the Village of Hythe and the Towns of Beaverlodge, Wembley, and Sexsmith on the Rural Homelessness Estimation Project.
 
It got underway today.
 
The County’s Lisa Watson says it’s too early to guess how many people in these communities might be homeless.
 
“We’re hoping that, with this estimation, it will give us a better idea of what individuals residing in our rural areas are experiencing. So, that’s the point of doing the whole estimation is to be able to get a good idea of what our numbers are in the area. It’s the first time we’ve ever done something like this.”
 
Watson says those being counted fit into one of four categories.
 
“The first one would be those that are absolute homeless, so those that are street-engaged. The second category would be those that are sheltered, so those that  are checking into Odyssey House, Rotary House, as well as our youth shelter in Grande Prairie.”
 
Other categories are people who have been living in campgrounds or couch surfing for a long time and those whose financial situation means they are at risk of losing their home.
 
Watson adds the information gathered will be used for things like deciding what services are needed.
 
“There’s a question on our survey that actually identifies what services they’re accessing or may be needed. What we’ll do is bring the information to our task force that’s been developed and we’ll calculate those numbers and we’ll put it through our task force as well. Hopefully, by December, we’ll have a public report that’s available.”
 
The project runs through October 17.