There were 122 people in Nelson who were experiencing some form of homelessness last year.
That’s according to the 2024 Point-in-Time (PiT) homeless count and survey conducted by the Nelson Committee on Homelessness (NCOH), which was presented to Nelson city councillors Tuesday evening.
A PiT count is an estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness within a determined geographical area during a set period of time, typically 24 hours.
It also identifies the location where they spent the night: in shelters, transitional housing, or unsheltered locations.
The count considered those experiencing absolute homelessness (i.e., tents, makeshift shelters), those who are emergency sheltered (i.e., at Stepping Stones), those provisionally accommodated (i.e., North Shore Inn), and those experiencing hidden homelessness (i.e., couch surfing).
The data on those experiencing hidden homelessness was collected through L.V. Rogers Secondary School, SD8, Freedom Quest, Nelson Community Services, and Cicada Place.
Nelson’s 2024 PiT count also included a survey that asked a set of standardized questions administered directly to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Findings
According to the report, 59 per cent of those experiencing homelessness in the City of Nelson were aged 26–54, 12 per cent were aged 55 and up, and 29 per cent were between the ages of 13 and 25.
Of the 122 unhoused individuals, 44 were completely unsheltered, 29 were provisionally housed, 19 were considered hidden homeless, and 30 were considered emergency sheltered.
NCOH representative Dylan Griffith, who presented the report’s findings to council alongside colleague Amanda Ladner, noted that 75 per cent of those who fell into the hidden homeless category were youth.
There were 102 respondants to the survey, 30 per cent of whom were under the age of 25, and 12 per cent were aged 55 and up.
Griffith noted that 54 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they experienced homelessness for the first time before the age of 18, and 30 per cent said they became homeless before the age of 14.
“That just shows us one of the areas where target interventions are needed: with youth. Basically, we’re talking about the fact that if you prevent youth from becoming homeless, you’re preventing homelessness later in life. So when council is considering what interventions to make, we need to be looking at preventing homelessness in youth.”
Rising rates
From 2016 to 2024, the city has seen a 30 per cent increase in homelessness. In 2016 and 2018, there were 94 unhoused individuals, and 88 in 2022.
Griffith says that while the 30 per cent increase is concerning, it’s roughly in line with the provincial average.
“There are other communities that have had much more significant increases in homelessness over the same period, including Cranbrook, which has seen a 300 per cent increase between 2018 and 2023. So while the change is significant, our overall change is not huge.”
However, he says there has been a change in the number of those who are completely unsheltered, which has seen a 91 per cent increase from 2018 (23 people) to the 44 identified in 2024.
There has also been a 97 per cent increase in those experiencing chronic homelessness and in the number of days people have spent without housing.
“In 2018, it was 145 days, and now it’s gone up to 285. That speaks to just how little housing is available for people. It’s becoming easier for people to fall into homelessness, and once they’re there, they’re staying there—whereas people used to cycle in and out of homelessness.”
The report also revealed that roughly 63 per cent of unhoused individuals in Nelson have lived there for five years or longer.
Of the 39 per cent who have lived there for less than five years, the majority came from other West Kootenay communities, while 13 per cent came from communities in the East Kootenays.
Money was the largest contributing factor to homelessness in 2024, along with conflict or abuse by a landlord, guardian, or partner, and unsafe housing.
You can view the full report here.
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