County to launch Rural Homelessness Estimation Project

Aug 21, 2018 | 5:30 AM

The County of Grande Prairie is launching a month-long project to get a better idea of how many people are homeless or at the risk of living homeless in the County, Beaverlodge, Wembley, Hythe, and Sexsmith.

Lisa Watson, Child, Youth, Family and Community Team Lead with the County’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) department says this is the first time anything like this has been done in our rural areas.

She says the Rural Homelessness Estimation Project is different from a Point-in-Time count, which is typically done in urban centres.

From Sept 17 to October 17, data will be gathered through local agencies who will survey people who access their services.

She said they’re seeing different types of needs in the County and these communities, specifically around housing.

Once the surveying is complete, they will do up a final report with their findings. They are hoping to have that report complete by early December.

“We’ve also got our task force established that is helping to guide this project and they will have a chance to look at the data and the information collected, and it can possibly guide towards how we are going to address poverty and homelessness within the County, and surrounding municipalities,” she said.

by Sheena Roszell