Homelessness in BC’s Small- and Mid-Sized Communities

The 2016 Coordinated Point in Time Count (PiT count) marked the first time that communities across provinces and territories in Canada used a common approach when doing a homeless count. Policymakers were able to aggregate basic information on homelessness levels across 32 participating communities. This process was repeated in 2018, with 61 communities participating in Everyone Counts 2018, the second nationally coordinated PiT count. However, the federal summary reports do not report the results of the individual communities, and while the Homeless Hub endeavors to maintain Community Profiles on the Designated Communities (including their PiT Counts), data are typically available only as raw counts (c.f. rates comparable across communities). Additionally, the Designated Communities that receive funding through Reaching Home (Canada’s Homelessness Strategy; formerly the Homelessness Partnering Strategy / HPS) tend to be urban centres. Although some items discuss the topic of rural homelessness generally (see, for example, the items below), the addition of BC Housing-funded PiT counts represents a unique opportunity to explore the quantitative rates of homelessness in BC across communities of varying sizes moving forward.

Further reading on Rural Homelessness

  1. Rural Homelessness (HUD Exchange)
  2. How is Rural Homelessness Different from Urban Homelessness? (COH, 2018)

 

Rates represent one of many ways in which a community might measure their success in addressing homelessness. Overall these might include:

  • Are the raw counts of individuals experiencing homelessness at Functional Zero?
  • Are the raw counts of individuals experiencing homelessness decreasing?
    • For example, see Built for Zero’s summary of Community Progress Indicators for both Chronic and Veteran Homelessness
  • Are rates of homelessness per capita decreasing?
  • Are rates of homelessness per capita lower than similarly situated communities?
    • For example, the OECD attempts to track rates at a national level (HC3.1 – Page 5)
  • Are rates of homelessness per capita decreasing (or increasing) at a rate that differs from similarly situated communities?
  • Are rates of homelessness per capita at Functional Zero?
    • For larger communities with over 4,000 people experiencing homelessness enumerated during a given Point in Time count, the Functional Zero threshold for Chronic Homelessness represents a rate of less than 0.1% of the population. 
  • Has the supply of housing and associated services risen to meet the demand?
    • For example, the Functional Zero threshold for Veteran Homelessness represents the point at which the number of veterans experiencing homelessness is less than or equal to the number of veterans a community has proven it can house in a month.

Each of these possible metrics can be supported through regular Point in Time counts and / or a By-Name List (particularly when linked to estimates of overall corresponding population levels to aid in cross-site comparison and aggregation).


** Note that while the Housing and Urban Development department in the United States provides very detailed information by Continuum of Care each year, these too are reported without corresponding estimates of CoC population such that rates could be derived and compared across communities with different population sizes **


In 2018, BC Housing funded a wave of counts across British Columbia beyond those within Reaching Home communities. This culminated in a Report on Homeless Counts in B.C. (PDF), summarizing the results of the federally-, provincially-, and independently-funded counts.

While the onset of the COVID-19 pandemics resulted in many counts being cancelled (both provincial and federal counts), they were rescheduled for the Spring of 2021. Initial results from the counts provide an additional wave of data on experiences of homelessness (a provincial summary is expected to follow, with a report on the federal counts expected in Spring of 2022).

The one remaining challenge in comparing counts across regions is the lack of corresponding populations estimates. For some communities, it can be reasonably assumed that the scope of the counts reflects the community as listed in the BC Population Estimates (through the clearest cases are those that include maps, such a Metro Vancouver, p.10 or West Kelowna, p.9). In other cases,  it can be challenging to determine whether the surveyed community matches the boundaries of a similarly named municipality, regional district, census metropolitan area, or local health authority region, across which there may be large variations in population estimates (and, accordingly, in rates). That being said, below is an attempt to produce rates under a series of assumptions and best available estimates for the purpose of discussion, as well as for possible comparison over time as further counts are conducted.

Rates of Homelessness in BC

While several constraints limit the capacity to identify trends (including the limitations of the population estimates, the novelty of point in time counts in multiple communities, and the overall small numbers identified within smaller communities),  it is clear that smaller communities experienced greater variability in their counts across time points (most notably Merritt, Prince Rupert, and Terrace to a lesser degree).

The release of additional federally-funded counts within and beyond BC will also for more detailed breakdowns of changes in rates across counts conducted prior to COVID-19 versus those conducted during COVID-19.

“Small” versus “Mid-Sized” Cities

Is Kelowna a mid-sized city? It depends on the source and context:

Term Definition Source
“midsized cities” (Government of Canada, Immigration) 100,000 to one million LINK
“medium population centres” (StatsCan, Census) 30,000 to 99,999 LINK
“mid-sized cities” (UoC, School of Public Policy) 300,000 to two million LINK
“medium-sized urban areas” (OECD) 200,000 to 500,000 LINK
“mid-sized CMAs” (StatsCan, Census) 225,000 and 500,000 LINK
“mid-sized metropolitan areas” (StatsCan, Transportation) 250,000 to 999,999 LINK
“mid-sized city” (SFU) 50,000 to 500,000 LINK

 

Regardless of the preferred classification structure, the potential relationship between population size and homelessness remains a topic worthy of further exploration.


March 2022 Update – BC Homelessness Data Integration Project (Phase 1)

On March 16th, 2022, BC Housing release the Phase 1 report for Preventing and Reducing Homelessness: An Integrated Data Project.

The report included a figure of per capita rates of homelessness by Census Division for their “2019 Homelessness Cohort”, a method of enumeration adding together both those accessing shelters in 2019 as well as those receiving BC Employment Assistance who were identified as having “no fixed address” for at least three consecutive months.

 


2017/2018 Point in Time Counts

CommunityType2018 Count2018 PopPop SourceEst. 2018 Rate
SmithersBCH 20180,0290,005,629BC Stats0.52%
MerrittBCH 20180,0110,007,574BC Stats0.15%
Quesnel*N/A**N/A*0,010,343BC Stats*N/A*
Squamish*N/A**N/A*0,021,274BC Stats*N/A*
Salt Spring IslandInd 20180,1150,010,5572016 Census1.09%
NelsonHPS 20180,1150,011,348BC Stats1.01%
Williams LakeBCH 20180,0430,011,343BC Stats0.38%
Prince RupertBCH 20180,0710,012,962BC Stats0.55%
TerraceInd 20180,0960,012,449BC Stats0.77%
Sechelt & GibsonsBCH 20180,0570,031,551RD - BC Stats0.18%
Port AlberniBCH 20180,1470,018,693BC Stats0.79%
CranbrookBCH 20180,0290,021,094BC Stats0.14%
Fort St JohnBCH 20180,0610,021,769BC Stats0.28%
West KelownaInd 20180,0720,035,459BC Stats0.20%
PentictonBCH 20180,1080,036,076BC Stats0.30%
Campbell RiverBCH 20180,0810,035,218BC Stats0.23%
VernonInd 20170,1530,042,603BC Stats0.36%
Parksville & QualicumBCH 20180,0420,054,089BC ED (overlaps with Greater Nanaimo) 0.08%
Comox ValleyBCH 20180,1170,071,526RD - BC Stats0.16%
Prince GeorgeHPS 20180,1600,080,043BC Stats0.20%
DuncanInd 20170,1500,089,475RD - BC Stats0.17%
KamloopsHPS 20180,1950,098,659BC Stats0.20%
NanaimoHPS 20180,3010,117,930LHA: "Greater Nanaimo"0.26%
KelownaHPS 20180,2860,139,727BC Stats0.20%
Fraser ValleyInd 20170,6060,324,988RD - BC Stats0.19%
Greater VictoriaHPS 20180,9310,241,466LHA: "Greater Victoria"0.39%
Metro VancouverInd 20173,6052,658,594RD - BC Stats0.14%

*All count results from 2018 were retrieved from the BC Housing site for the sake of consistency, with the exception of West Kelowna which wasn’t included

**Population estimates have been retried from either the BC Population Estimates – Municipal and sub-provincial areas population, 2011 to 2020 (municipalities of regional districts), the Canada 2016 Census Profile, the BC Electoral District summaries, or the BC Stats Portal for Local Health Area populations. 

 

2020/2021 Point in Time Counts

CommunityType2020/21 Count2020 PopPop SourceEst. 2020 Rate
SmithersBCH 20210,0330,005,664BC Stats0.58%
MerrittBCH 20200,0430,007,805BC Stats0.55%
QuesnelBCH 20200,1210,010,356BC Stats1.17%
SquamishBCH 20210,1070,021,273BC Stats0.50%
Salt Spring Island*No results yet**No results yet*0,010,5572016 Census*No results yet*
Nelson*No results yet**No results yet*0,011,557BC Stats*No results yet*
Williams LakeBCH 20200,0510,011,559BC Stats0.44%
Prince RupertBCH 20210,1180,013,036BC Stats0.91%
TerraceInd 20210,0730,012,817BC Stats0.57%
Sechelt & GibsonsBCH 20200,0840,031,723RD - BC Stats0.26%
Port AlberniBCH 20210,1250,018,693BC Stats0.67%
CranbrookBCH 20200,0630,021,502BC Stats0.29%
Fort St JohnBCH 20200,0760,022,283BC Stats0.34%
West Kelowna*N/A**N/A*0,036,496BC Stats*N/A*
PentictonBCH 20210,1140,036,597BC Stats0.31%
Campbell RiverBCH 20210,1160,036,167BC Stats0.32%
VernonBCH 20210,2240,044,171BC Stats0.51%
Parksville & QualicumBCH 20210,0870,054,089BC ED (*overlaps with Greater Nanaimo*)0.16%
Comox ValleyBCH 20200,1320,073,664RD - BC Stats0.18%
Prince George*No results yet**No results yet*0,082,290BC Stats*No results yet*
DuncanBCH 20200,1290,090,776RD - BC Stats0.14%
Kamloops*No results yet**No results yet*0,101,198BC Stats*No results yet*
NanaimoHPS 20200,4330,121,434LHA: "Greater Nanaimo"0.36%
KelownaHPS 20200,2970,146,127BC Stats0.20%
Fraser ValleyInd 20200,8950,335,229RD - BC Stats0.27%
Greater VictoriaHPS 20200,9780,247,206LHA: "Greater Victoria" 0.40%
Metro VancouverInd 20203,6342,737,681RD - BC Stats0.13%