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"Homeless Count 2008"
Homeless Count 2008 is in. And the results show that 2,592 individuals were found homeless by volunteers
in a 24-hour count from March 10th to 11th.
This represents a 19-percent increase in the number of homeless individuals living on our streets from the
last count in 2005!
And even the organizers themselves stressed this new figure, as were the previous ones in 2005 and 2002, is lower than accurate.
Read more on Homeless Count 2008
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"Homeless Count 2005"
* According to the 2005 Greater Vancouver Homeless Count, the number of homeless region-wide reached 2,174, nearly doubling since 2003.
* More homeless were found on the street (on one particular night) than in shelters, and the number of street homeless has grown by 235% or 800 persons since the last count in 2002.
* Greater Vancouver shelters, safe houses, and transition houses can turn away as many as 175 adults and children in one night.
* Less than half of the homeless population in 2005 (45%) had a steady income source such as income assistance, pension, or disability benefits. The remainder survived with no income, income from binning or bottle collecting, panhandling...
* The number of homeless seniors 55 and over counted on count day grew significantly from 51 persons in 2002 to 171 persons in 2005.
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"Major source of income for homeless adults"
The major income source for homeless adults and unaccompanied youth enumerated in the homeless count was Income Assistance or a related training program (30%). The next most frequently reported response was "no income" (23%) followed by full, part-time or casual employment (14% or almost 250 respondents), although this was mostly casual or part-time work.
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"BC Poverty Rates Soar Amidst Plenty" - posted September 2006
A Tyee article Poverty Amidst Plenty calls attention to a recently released Human Resources and Social Development Canada report that puts B.C.'s average poverty rate at 22.5% in 2002.
Averages were much higher for some groups: among children it was 30% and for single moms it was a staggering 58%. For most groups these numbers, calculated according to the government's "market basket" measure of the poverty line, are higher than previous estimates, higher than the national average, and higher than in every other province except Newfoundland.
The article discusses implications of the report and suggests feasible minimum wage and welfare changes for a province with a currently booming economy.
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