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By rdnewsNOW staff

taking a closer look

Red Deer to conduct new homeless count Thursday as numbers rise

Oct 8, 2024 | 12:41 PM

The City of Red Deer is conducting another ‘Point in Time’ (PiT) homeless count this Thursday (Oct. 10).

The city says the count will take place in the evening and will be the sixth done since 2012.

Coordination for such a count comes from all levels of government as well as with local community partners. Provincially, the ‘7 Cities on Housing and Homelessness’ (7 Cities) is also a key player.

“In the last PiT Count in 2022, local agency and outreach staff played a key role in the PiT Count, and we saw great success,” said Jodi Kelloway, Acting Superintendent, Social Wellness & Integration Supports.

“This year, we’re again collaborating with local agencies and the homeless-serving sector to conduct the street count and surveys in shelters, transitional housing, and urban encampments. We’re also excited to include Red Deer Polytechnic Social Work Diploma students as part of our specialized unsheltered community teams for the first time since the pandemic.”

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The 2022 count results were released in May 2023, and showed 334 people, an increase from 144 people in 2018.

In a recent interview, Mayor Ken Johnston told rdnewsNOW that homelessness is indeed still increasing, which has prompted the municipality to take new stops toward addressing urban encampments.

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In that story, City Manager Tara Lodewyk also said that urban encampment is a very short-term solution to a complex health, housing and public safety issue.

Lodewyk said that as long as there is a lack of affordable and supportive housing supply, problems will persist.

Kelloway adds that by working with community partners on this count, the city can better enhance housing programs and services, and measure progress in combatting chronic homelessness.

It also comes as the city continues to grapple with the issue of finding a location for the provincially-funded permanent shelter.

Johnston is hopeful an answer will come soon, but since that interview, Red Deer put forth a resolution at the Alberta Municipalities conference in late September, which called for a provincial shelter strategy.

That resolution was passed.

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