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By Glory Przekop

Homeless numbers up in Grande Prairie after latest count

Jul 19, 2018 | 1:37 PM

Results from the Point-in-Time Homeless Count are in and on April 11th there were 228 people counted as experiencing homelessness in Grande Prairie.

 The results are as follows:

–       63% male, 37% female

–       8% dependants under 18, 14% independent youth between ages 13-24, 48% between the ages 25-44, 30% between the ages of 45-64.

–       61% sleeping in an emergency shelter, 14% residential treatment, 10% motel/hotel (sponsored), 6% incarcerated/holding cell, 2% respondent doesn’t know, 3% other unsheltered location/public space, 2% transitional housing, 2% hospital.

–       44% of those counted as experiencing homelessness were Indigenous

–       54 people counted had been in Grande Prairie less than a year

–       40 people were counted living in transitional housing programs

–       53% of people counted were chronically homeless

The city’s Homeless Initiative Supervisor Katherine Schmidt that is up from the 127 people counted in 2016.

“In Grande Prairie we added a couple of new routes and one of those we added was people experiencing homelessness living in motels or staying with friends or family and that is one of those forms of homelessness that is hard to capture and often times remains hidden, so I think that’s impacted our numbers a bit,” said Schmidt. “There were 8% dependants that were under the age of 18, so that’s showing that there are some families out there with young children.  It’s good for us to keep that in mind when we are looking at support services.”

She says among the statistics that stood out for here was the high percentage of Indigenous peoples experiencing homelessness.

“And in our general population in all of Grande Prairie, our Indigenous population is only around 10 percent. So, what that shows is an extremely high number in the homelessness area and so there is definitely some work to be done there and I see opportunities.”

The count was done across the country including in Alberta’s seven largest communities.

“The PiT Count is an opportunity to gather city-specific data about emerging local trends”, says Forrest McGregor, Research and Evaluation Analyst. “Advocacy efforts remain focused on affordable housing, as well as permanently supported housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness.” 

by Glory Przekop