A recent survey has found homelessness is on the rise in Nelson, with more than half of those interviewed having been without stable long-term housing for a year or more.
In its fourth Point-In-Time Count, conducted on November 7 by the Nelson Committee on Homelessness (NCOH), it found 122 residents experienced some form of homelessness.
A total of 40 people were found to be experiencing unsheltered/absolute homelessness, which includes anyone sleeping in tents, makeshift shelters, empty buildings, unheated trailers, parks, or sidewalks or any other unsheltered outdoor location. An additional 4 people were found to be staying in vehicles, while 59 people were provisionally housed at 2 shelters and 4 transitional housing sites. A further 19 people, primarily youth, were found to be “couch-surfing” or staying at someone else’s place because they had no safe home of their own to go to.
The survey found 56 per cent of respondents were experiencing homelessness in the community having been without stable long-term housing for a year or longer, compared to just 24 per cent in 2018.
By comparison, 70 percent of those experiencing homelessness in BC as whole have been without safe, permanent housing for more than one year, up from 53 per cent in 2018. On average, someone currently experiencing homelessness in Nelson has been without proper housing for 25 months or just over 2 years. The vacancy rate in Nelson has been 0 per cent for over 10 years.
Unsheltered or absolute homelessness is also on the rise, again in BC as well as in Nelson, and now accounts for 37 per cent of the total amount of all forms of homelessness in our community, compared to 25 per cent in 2018.
“This year we are seeing some themes that are consistent with other communities in BC. The length of time people are homeless is increasing and the percentage of individuals who first experienced homelessness as a youth is significant. As a community we have increased our affordable and supportive housing. However, we still face some challenges that could be resolved with complex care housing, as well as a temporary winter shelter. We know what the solutions are, and we are committed to working together to realize these goals”. said Cheryl Dowden, Executive Director of ANKORS and Co-Chair of NCOH.
While Nelson is very much in line with provincial trends around homelessness in general, one of the things that stood out is individuals’ perceptions of stigma and discrimination. Almost a quarter (23%) of survey respondents indicated that discrimination contributed to their most recent loss of housing, compared to just (6%) in BC as whole, while over a third identified stigma and discrimination as barriers to accessing both housing (32%) and essential services (31%). Interpersonal conflict, including domestic violence, was another major contributor to housing loss, while the combination of high rents and limited income was the most frequently cited barrier to securing housing, with lack of transportation and costs being the most common barriers to accessing essential services and supports.
The most egregiously over-represented population in PiT Counts all over Canada, however, continues to be Indigenous peoples, with 41% in Nelson identifying as either First Nations, Metis, or Inuit or having Indigenous ancestry, despite these four groups combined comprising only 6% of BC’s total population.
“The most recent PiT Count results are sadly not shocking; however, at the same time this data and information continues to create significant concerns about the wellness of Indigenous people living in the Nelson area. The obvious over-representation of Indigenous people in the homeless/houseless community in our area needs to be addressed and must include culturally safe services and supports that are easily accessible.” said Kris Salkin, Executive Director for Circle of Indigenous Nations (COINS).”
Importantly, homelessness is embedded within larger structural and systemic inequities in our society. While Housing availability and affordability is a problem for all, for multiple reasons it is a much greater problem for our homeless and precariously housed. Many have histories that include, youth homelessness, mental illness, addictions or marginalization because of extreme poverty, racism, homophobia/transphobia, chronic health issues, disabilities, involvement in the justice system and/or trauma leading to discrimination and stigmatization.
As sobering as these results are, there are many reasons to be hopeful. At the outset of this year with the collaborative efforts of BC Housing, the City of Nelson and Nelson CARES Society, the North Shore Inn (NSI) is now providing supportive housing to 28 individuals, and potentially up to 30 once renovations are completed. Supportive housing is not affordable housing.
“Supportive housing is subsidized housing with on-site supports for single adults, seniors and people with disabilities at risk of or experiencing homelessness. These supports help people find and maintain stable housing.”
“It is imperative that our youth are well supported during their developmental years. Safe, stable housing where youth are supported through their transition into adulthood is key to their development and future successes. This support does not necessarily end once a youth turns 19. Everyone is unique and continued learning and maturity continues well into one’s 20’s. Teaching youth life skills and offering them opportunities to be successful in the housing market goes a long way in preventing them from becoming unhoused. We know that we need to prevent youth entering homelessness to prevent a lifelong pattern of being unhoused, and in Nelson we desperately need more dedicated youth housing.” said Joyce Dahms-Whiffen, Program Director for Nelson Community Services.
With the recent announcement that BC Housing plans to turn 45 Government Road into supportive housing, discussions of complex-care housing in the region, 68-Unit LU’MA Native Housing Society building in Castlegar, 20-unit development by the Castlegar and District Community Services Society, as well as a 13-unit development by the Kootenay Society for Community Living, we have some housing solutions coming online. This doesn’t come soon enough, for those folks sleeping in the cold, and the long-term impacts of living without a home.
About the Survey
The Point-in-Time Count was led by Nelson Committee on Homelessness (NCOH), in partnership with Nelson CARES, Nelson Community Services, School District 8, the Rural Empowered Drug User Network (REDUN), Freedom Quest and the Kootenay Boundary Adult Supported Recovery Program and consisted of a 24-hour enumeration, along with a 28-question survey of community members found to be experiencing some form of homelessness.
Surveys were conducted at six sheltered sites (Stepping Stones, Cicada Place, North Shore Inn, Ward Street Place -TAP, Aimee Beaulieu Transition House and the Kootenay Boundary Adult Supported Recovery Program), as well as at various community locations, including ANKORS, the Nelson Public Library, the Nelson Community Food Centre, Our Daily Bread, and the NCOH/Salvation Army’s weekly Drop-In Centre, as well as on the streets, in alleyways, and at various other public locations throughout Nelson.
The point-in-time count is a requirement for communities that receive federal funding.
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