Alberta’s 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count provides a snapshot of homelessness in Alberta.
7 Cities on Housing and Homelessness released the Alberta 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, a report on the 3rd provincial point-in-time count (Count) coordinated by Alberta’s seven largest communities on April 11, 2018. The Count provides a snapshot of homelessness across the province and contributes to 7 Cities’ collective efforts to align approaches in assessing need and measuring progress in the work to end homelessness. While Counts are not a comprehensive measure of homelessness, they provide valuable information about the homeless population and identify trends over time.
For the first time, Alberta’s Count was aligned with a nationally coordinated effort of over 60 communities for the most complete Canada-wide picture of homelessness. Everyone Counts: The 2018 Point-in-Time Count was undertaken with the support of the Community Development and Homelessness Partnerships Directorate, Employment and Social Development Canada. “Each city has its own unique factors that contribute to homelessness, and the availability and application of resources looks different,” explains Susan McGee, Chair of 7 Cities. “Working together, we improve our ability to assess need and develop targeted and effective solutions that ensure homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring in our province.”
Alberta 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count Results
Over the past decade, homelessness has declined across the province, a direct result of evidence-based programs such as Housing Support, supported by provincial and local plans to end homelessness. The 2018 Count suggests homelessness has stabilized in the province, with local variations, during significant economic pressures and continued in-migration. New challenges have emerged for many communities during this time, including increased opioid use and a crisis impacting vulnerable people and the systems that support them.
The 2018 Count includes more organizations and systems along with several changes to the methodology, making it difficult to draw comparisons between Count numbers over time. In 2016, Alberta counted 5,367 individuals as experiencing homelessness, while this year, 5,735 individuals were identified as the same; including new data sources contributed to some of the increase, while decreases were seen elsewhere. Learnings from the 2018 Count reinforce the value of utilizing real-time data sources in system planning efforts that rely on up-to-date and comprehensive information. Alberta has been a leader in adopting and utilizing Homeless Management Information Systems, a core strategy in ending homelessness. Turner Strategies coordinated the provincial Count, including the technical analysis and final report.
Each of the seven communities (Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, Red Deer, and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo) will release their own local reports once completed.
About Alberta’s 7 Cities on Housing and Homelessness
7 Cities is a collaborative network of the lead organizations responsible for the implementation of local Plans to End homelessness. Since 2001, they have coordinated local plans at a systems level and aligned funding resources for greater impact and progress towards ending homelessness. A forum for dialogue with the federal and provincial representatives on housing and homelessness is created through the 7 Cities, resulting in long-standing histories of delivering strategic planning and service delivery.
For more information, visit 7cities.ca.
Contact Information
Calgary Homeless Foundation
403 237 6456
The City of Grande Prairie
780-538-0300
The City of Lethbridge
403 320 3111
Medicine Hat Community Housing Society
403 527 4507
The City of Red Deer
403 342 8111
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
780 743 7000
