Homeless population on rise in Vernon

Oct 5, 2023 | 3:21 PM

Vernon’s homeless population has increased over the past two years.

The provincial point-in-time 2023 Homeless Count done this past April identified 279 unhoused individuals in Vernon.

That marked an increase from 2021’s count of 224 homeless people, an increase of 24.5 per cent.

Of the unsheltered individuals identified in Vernon, 62 per cent were sleeping outside without shelter, while 13 per cent were spending their nights at someone else’s place and 12 per cent had makeshift shelters or tents.

New for the 2023 count was asking individuals where they slept overnight during the past year. The top locations identified were outside (66 per cent of the time), at a homeless shelter (63 per cent), and at an encampment (50 per cent).

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The survey showed 78 per cent of unhoused individuals in Vernon were adults between the ages of 25 and 54, while 19 per cent were seniors and three per cent were people under the age of 25.

Men accounted for the majority of the local homeless population at 61 per cent. Women made up 38 per cent, and one per cent had other gender identities.

The report also noted 42 per cent of the identified individuals were Indigenous, and that 80 per cent of them reported having lived or generational experience with residential schools.

The top contributors for housing loss in Vernon were substance use issues (27 per cent), not enough income and landlord/tenant conflict (both at 25 per cent).

The report stated 96 per cent of respondents reported having an income source, with the most common being income assistance and disability benefits, though around six per cent said they had a full or part-time job.

Addiction was the main health concern identified by 73 per cent of respondents in the point-in-time survey, followed by mental heath (64 per cent), medical conditions (51 per cent), physical disability (46 per cent) and learning disability (28 per cent).

The report said 78 per cent of the homeless population surveyed had two or more health concerns, and 45 per cent had acquired a brain injury.

The percentage of unhoused individuals with a brain injury had risen from 2021’s figure of 35 per cent, though the number of people who identified as having an addiction issues declined from 85 per cent in 2021.

It was also noted that 86 per cent of the unhoused had been in Vernon for a year or more, including 24 per cent who had always lived in Vernon.

The report also stated that 67 per cent of the unhoused had accessed food services within the past year, while 64 per cent had visited the emergency room and 59 per cent had attended the hospital for non-emergency purposes.

The 2023 Homeless count, conducted by B.C. Housing, took place in Vernon on the evening of April 27 and during the day of April 28.

Click here to read the community profiles.

Vernon was one of 20 communities surveyed as part of the 2023 project, and the Ministry of Housing said the increasing homeless populations in Vernon and the other communities showed the need to increase supports and services to prevent and address homelessness.

“The results of these counts reinforce our belief that more needs to be done to help the most vulnerable members of our communities,” Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said.

“Because of global inflation cities across North America are seeing an increase in vulnerable populations. Through our new Belonging in BC homelessness plan, we’re creating the kinds of safe, secure homes and supports that are necessary to break the cycle of homelessness. While the plan was only introduced this past spring, we’ve started to implement it immediately in order to build a stronger B.C. for everyone by helping those struggling to stabilize their lives.”

Data from the 20 community counts will be combined with five federally funded and two independent counts to produce a full report on homelessness in B.C. It’s expected that report will be released this winter and be used to inform and develop further supports and services in B.C.

The counts from other communities included 69 homeless in Salmon Arm and 166 in Penticton (up from 114 in 2021).

Kelowna and other larger B.C. cities were not part of the survey.

by Liam Verster

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