 |  |
Homelessness in Edmonton The number of Edmonton’s homeless is growing... 3079 The first homeless count was done back 1999. It found more than 1,100 people on the streets of Edmonton and the number has steadily risen since then. The Eighth Count of Homeless People conducted in October 2008 found 3,079 homeless people in the City of Edmonton. Of these, 1,862 were absolute homeless (having no housing alternative) and 1,217 were sheltered homeless (living in emergency accommodations). This represents an increase of 18% in the overall number of homeless individuals in the City of Edmonton from the 2006 count tally of 2,618.
 As in the 2006 Count of Homeless Persons there is an increase in the number of homeless people in Edmonton. A total of 3079 people were counted in 2008. This reflects an increase of 18% or 461 people in the total number of homeless counted. The number of absolute homeless increased by almost 5% or 88 to 1862 and the number of sheltered homeless increased by approximately 44% or 373 to 1217;In terms of gender, 2124 or (69%) of homeless individuals were observed to be male and 23%, or 702 were female. Of the remaining 253 or 8%, 245 were children and caregivers in families whose gender was not observed. The relative proportion of the number of men to women is higher than the 2006 count results; in total, there was an increase of 304 males and 94 females;  The Count recorded a significant decrease in the number of turnaways in 2008. Only 52 people were turned away as compared to 256 in 2006. In addition, the number discharged with no home to return to dropped to 72 from the previous count of 113. Turnaways are not included in the homeless tally. There were no turnaways from housing providers;There was a significant increase in the number of families enumerated in 2008 as compared to 2006 (133 compared to 79). This represents an 87% increase (34) in the number of Absolute Homeless Families; a 50% increase (20) in the number of Sheltered Homeless Families. This can be attributed to a number of factors including improvements in the survey forms, which clarified the definition of dependants, caregivers, and their housing status, as well as an increase in the number of spaces available for women and children i.e. La Salle and Wings of Providence; There are 125 children living on the street; There was an increase in the number of shelter spaces available from 2006, of those available spaces, a large number are reserved for women and children, this is reflected in the increase in the number of homeless families; The majority of the 3079 total homeless figure is single aboriginal men between the ages of 31-54; The numbers reflect an increase in the number of children, and seniors over 65 yrs of age living on the street. |    |
DYNACOR MEDIA