File photo.
During the City of Red Deer’s Point in Time (PIT) Homeless Count, 766 people were identified as experiencing homelessness, a jump from 2022’s 334.
The PiT Count was held in October, as part of a Canada-wide initiative to provide a national picture of homelessness.
Locally, community partners collaborated to identify the extent of homelessness, provide insights into trends, and help to target solutions.
In 2024, five per cent of individuals counted identified as veterans, and 32 per cent identified as Indigenous.
Approximately 108 people moved to Red Deer in the last year.
Of the 766 individuals counted, 54 per cent were between 25 and 44 years old, and 30 per cent were between 45 and 64 years old.
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The PiT Count included a street count along with surveys in shelters, transitional housing, and urban encampments.
The survey indicated that 56 per cent of individuals stayed in emergency or transitional facilities, seven per cent were provisionally housed in the public system, 11 per cent stayed in encampments, and 26 per cent were unsheltered not in encampments.
Reasons for homelessness varied, but 44 per cent of respondents faced housing and financial issues, including not having enough income, being in unfit or unsafe conditions, or their buildings being sold or renovated.
Conflict was a key contributor, with 27 per cent of all respondents facing conflict with a partner, spouse, parent, guardian, or landlord, however, 15 per cent of respondents reported more than one reason for homelessness. Of all respondents, 45 per cent reported their most recent housing loss was related to eviction.
The PiT Count and survey were funded by the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
A complete 2024 PiT Count results report will be available at a later date when all data has been collected and analyzed.
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