March 23-24 mark the City of Vancouver’s Annual Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver, though awareness and action is needed beyond these two days of important data collection.

As an ongoing initiative since 2010, the City of Vancouver has been conducting an annual count to help estimate the number of homeless, obtain an accurate demographic profile of the population, and to help identify common trends compared to previous years. The most recent data collected was the 2014 Homeless Count in the Metro Vancouver Region, conducted by the Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness (RSCH) every three years – an initiative supported by Metro Vancouver, Government of Canada, City of Vancouver, Vancouver Foundation, Real Estate Foundation, Surrey Homeless & Housing Society, and Translink. The data collected from these counts assists government bodies and organizations with policy development, planning, prioritizing programs and services to address the needs of the people.

This year will be particularly important in addressing the current status on housing and homelessness in the city. Back in 2008, Mayor Gregor Robertson and Council had pledged to end street homelessness by 2015, and increase affordable housing choices for all Vancouverites. According to the most recent count results, the city’s overall homeless population, both ‘visibly’ and ‘invisibly’ homeless, has increased since the original promise had been made.

In 2011, 2012, and 2013, Mayor Robertson’s initiatives had placed a greater number of homeless inside shelters and off the streets, however, the effects did not last for long. Data collected from the 2014 count indicated that homelessness has reached an all-time high, and brings into question the efficacy of Mayor Robertson’s initiatives.

Housing and homelessness are two issues that go hand-in-hand in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver initiated their Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2012-2021 as an initiative to end homelessness and increase affordable housing choices for all residents of the city. This includes investing in more accessible, affordable and sustainable housing for seniors, families and disabilities – regardless of their income level. Homelessness can range from living on the streets to struggling with inadequate or unaffordable housing, making it deeper than a one-dimensional issue.

Most homeless counts underestimate the number of people who are “homeless” defined as those who do not have a place of their own, where they could expect to stay in for more than 30 days. Many homeless choose to live in public spaces, which are an essential component to their daily lives. Public spaces provide a place to sit, sleep, eat, socialize, live and feel safe around others.

Homelessness can go beyond living on the street, including those who have no physical shelter, temporary residence in emergency shelters, or have no fixed address and live in someone else’s home, at a hospital, jail or detox facility. Hence, it is important to remind ourselves that homelessness is always larger than the numbers presented on the page.

A version of this article originally appeared on Spacing.

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