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Stalling Moment in Time: Halting the 25th Hour

Diverse experiences of homelessness pose challenges in gathering comprehensive data about it across Canada.

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3 min read
Canada's homelessness situation presents a complex picture due to its varied forms, making it...
Canada's homelessness situation presents a complex picture due to its varied forms, making it difficult to gather comprehensive data nationwide.

Stalling Moment in Time: Halting the 25th Hour

Checking Out Canada's Homeless Population: A Deep Dive into Point-in-Time Counts

Homelessness, a Complex Picture

Gathering comprehensive data on homelessness can be a daunting task due to its diverse nature. Each person's experience with homelessness is unique, making a one-size-fits-all approach challenging.

Canada's Point-in-Time Count: A National Solution

Enter Canada's Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a nationwide initiative that aims to tackle this issue. This annual initiative offers a short-term, one-night snapshot of the homeless population across the country. Data collected includes demographics, reasons for homelessness, and service needs.

The PIT Count Process

Volunteers, hailing from various agencies and organizations, traverse shelters, streets, and other potential habitats to conduct the PIT Count. To gather more specific information, participants are asked to fill out surveys, shedding light on their backgrounds and experiences.

Gathering Critical Insights

The PIT Count plays a pivotal role in identifying trends in homelessness and informing strategies to combat it. It offers valuable insights for policymakers and service providers.

The Curious Case of Owen Spillios-Hunter

journalist Owen Spillios-Hunter raises a valid question: Where does this critical data originates from and how accurate is it?

Selective Enrichment Insights:

Enumeration involves physically counting individuals in shelters, on the streets, and other locations.Survey data helps understand the characteristics of the homeless population and their needs.The PIT Count takes place across different cities and regions in Canada, including Hamilton, Ottawa, Waterloo Region, and Kamloops.Undercounting, self-reporting bias, and inconsistency across regions can impact the accuracy of PIT Count data.

Notes:

Produced by Owen Spillios-Hunter & Ley Pickard

Special thanks to Kaite Burkholder Harris & Raynor Boutet

Additional photos courtesy of Owen Spillios-Hunter

Additional graphics from

2024 Final Results Presentation PowerPoint, provided by Raynor Boutet, City of Ottawa

New Canadians making up a larger share of Ottawa's Homeless Population: Report, Nathan Fung, CBC News

Racialized men aged 25 to 49 are most likely to experience homelessness in Ottawa, Rachel Morgan, CityNews

Counting the Undercounted: Enumerating Rural Homelessness in Canada, Rebecca Schiff, Ashley Wilkinson, Terrilee Kelford, Shane Pelletier, Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff, International Journal on Homelessness

Everyone Counts - A Guide to Point in Time Counts in Canada 4th Edition - Standards for Participation, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Government of Canada

Music

Beryllium, Farrel Wooten, Epidemic Sound

Further Reading

Everyone Counts: This guide provides standards for participation in Point-in-Time counts in Canada.

Counting the Undercounted: This report examines rural homelessness in Canada.

New Canadians Making Up a Larger Share of Ottawa's Homeless Population: Report: This article discusses the growing representation of new Canadians in Ottawa's homeless population.

Racialized Men Aged 25 to 49 Most Likely to Experience Homelessness in Ottawa: This report focuses on homelessness among racialized men in Ottawa.

  1. The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a nationwide initiative in Canada, aims to inform strategies to combat homelessness by offering valuable insights for policymakers and service providers through gathering comprehensive data, such as demographics and reasons for homelessness.
  2. In addition to physical counting, the PIT Count also collects survey data to help understand the characteristics of the homeless population, including their needs and experiences, from volunteers who traverse various regions in Canada, including Hamilton, Ottawa, Waterloo Region, and Kamloops.
  3. Although the PIT Count plays a pivotal role in identifying trends in homelessness, it can be subject to issues like undercounting, self-reporting bias, and inconsistency across regions, which may affect the accuracy of the collected data.
  4. CBC News reports that new Canadians are making up a larger share of Ottawa's homeless population, shedding light on the diverse nature of homelessness in Canada.
  5. The Government of Canada releases a guide known as "Everyone Counts", providing standards for participation in Point-in-Time counts across the country to ensure the data is as accurate and reliable as possible.
  6. Researchers at the University of Alberta have been working at the intersection of science, health-and-wellness, and mental-health to develop AI models to analyze the data collected through the PIT Count and other sources to offer innovative solutions for homelessness and mental health issues.

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