2008 Homeless Count – Volunteers Needed
ARE YOU UP FOR THE COUNT? The 2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count is scheduled to take place during a 24-hour period on the night of Monday March 10th and the daytime of Tuesday, March 11th 2008. Funding for this critical initiative is being provided by the Homelessness Partnership Initiative and the United Way of the Lower Mainland. You may remember the 2002 and 2005 homeless counts which measured homelessness in the region at a point in time – one 24 hour period, providing information on the size and nature of the region’s homeless population.
The purpose of the 2008 Homeless Count is to produce an updated estimate of the street and sheltered homeless, a demographic profile of this population, and identify trends in relation to previous counts. This information is then used to aid in service planning and inform policy development…
WE NEED YOU! We are contacting local homeless committees, organizations and service providers throughout the region to help spread the word and to assist us in the planning phase of the project. We estimate that approximately 400 volunteers, working in teams of two, will be needed across Metro Vancouver to conduct interviews for the count.
We hope you will be able to help us to recruit volunteers from your community, and ask you to pass this message on to your networks. If you are interested in volunteering for the Homeless Count, please contact Catrina Chisholm at 604-718-7751 or homelesscount |at| sparc.bc.ca. A training session for the volunteers will be held 1 to 2 weeks prior to the count. One of our team members may also be contacting you to request your participation in planning for the count, or to obtain your input on likely locations to find homeless people in your area.
WHO IS LEADING THE COUNT? The Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness (RSCH) has hired SPARC BC (Social Planning and Research Council of BC) as the research consultant and volunteer coordinator for the Count. SPARC BC and their team of consultants coordinated the 2002 and 2005 Homeless Counts. A Homelessness Count Coordinating Committee (a task group of the RSCH) has been established and includes representation from municipal, regional, and provincial governments and community organizations providing homeless outreach services. Individual team members have been assigned to the following sub-regional areas:
Vancouver – Judy Graves North Shore, Bowen Island – Robyn Newton Richmond – Kari Huhtala Burnaby; New Westminster; North East Sector (Tri Cities); Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows; and the Langleys – Jim Woodward Surrey; Delta; and White Rock – Kevin Campbell Aboriginal Organizations – Infocus Consulting: Dave Baspaly, Dave Pranteau and Lee Faurot Overnight Shelter Count; UBC – Margaret Eberle
WHAT DOES THE COUNT INVOLVE? The 2008 count will build on the approach and methodology used in previous counts. The 24-hour snapshot includes a one-night survey of emergency shelters, transition houses for women fleeing abuse, and other locations that provide temporary accommodation. The day-time count includes homeless people who did not use a shelter on the previous night. Daytime interviews will take place at locations where homeless people are likely to congregate such as drop in centres, bottle depots, and meal programs, as well as parks, streets and ravines, and other places they may be staying. We hope with your help that we will be able to reach as many homeless people as possible on the day of the count. We hope that we can count on your assistance to make the 2008 Homeless Count a success! More information on the Count will be sent out over the next few months. If you have questions or require further information please call: Judy Roberts, Metro Vancouver Homelessness Secretariat 604-451-6065 or Robyn Newton, SPARC BC Project Manager 604-718-7757