B.C. touts new homelessness count method as 'most accurate to date'

British Columbia's housing minister says a new method for collecting data on homelessness is the first of its kind in Canada and will help the province improve how it tackles the issue.

David Eby said Wednesday the government used anonymized data from multiple ministry databases to paint a picture of homelessness across B.C. in 2019, that found trends like high per capita rates in northern rural communities and among men.

The data is a compilation of B.C. Housing's database for shelter use, those on income and disability assistance listed as having "no fixed address," and demographics identified through the Medical Services Plan.

A person is defined as experiencing homelessness, according to the new method, using two criteria. The first is if they received income assistance from the B.C. Employment and Assistance Program and had no fixed address for more than three months. The second is if they stayed more than one night in a B.C. Housing shelter. 

Both of those criteria could apply at once, according to a provincial report outlining the method.

"The data set is the most accurate count we've done to date," Eby said at a news conference Wednesday, while acknowledging it may not capture the "hidden homeless," such as women staying in unsafe relationships, or those who couchsurf or stay temporarily in other people's homes.

A total of 23,000 people experienced homelessness at some point in 2019, the report says. Just over half — 52 per cent — of people experienced homelessness temporarily rather than on a chronic basis. Anyone whom the data identified as experiencing homelessness for more than six months was defined as doing so on a chronic basis.

Eby says the province previously relied on data from point-in-time counts in 25 communities, but those were known to undercount the number of people who were homeless. The new data will complement the ongoing point-in-time counts, according to the Attorney General.

The 2020-21 point-in-time count, which involved volunteers surveying people they encountered on the streets and in shelters over a 24-hour period, identified 8,665 individuals in those 25 communities.

A third of the people surveyed said "not enough income" was the reason they were underhoused, and 22 per cent cited a substance use issue as the reason.

Indigenous people were disproportionately represented in the 2020-21 count, a trend that has also been reflected in previous years' counts.

"British Columbia is the only province that collects this data on a provincial level and we now do it two different ways to try to ensure as best as possible accuracy and try to set benchmarks for measuring whether our programs are working, how they're working, and where stressors are in the housing system that may be leading to homelessness," Eby said.

The government says it will use the data to focus on preventing chronic homelessness rather than reacting to a particular housing crisis.

As an example, Eby said the identification of Fraser-Fort George, Cariboo and Alberni-Clayoquot as having the highest per capita homelessness rates in 2019 suggests a need to take proactive steps in rural areas.

While the model for addressing homelessness in city centres typically sees non-profit groups apply to the province for funding to deliver services, smaller communities may not have those organizations. The province is working to expand B.C. Housing's reach in those areas, Eby said.