2000 Count of Homeless Persons in Calgary

This report is the fifth in a series of biennial surveys of various downtown Calgary shelter and non-shelter service providers on May 17th to determine both the numbers of homeless persons who were served by such services and observed sleeping on the street. Twenty three organizations participated in the count. Findings from the 2000 Count of Homeless Persons suggest that the numbers of homeless people in downtown Calgary increased, but the rate of increase slowed somewhat from that observed between 1996 and 1998. When comparing the total homeless population by observed age, sex and racial characteristics to previous counts, the most notable trends observed were the decrease in the total percentage of men aged 25-64 sleeping in the shelters or on the streets, the increase in the total percentage of females counted and the increase in the percentage of children and youth counted. The number of Aboriginal persons found on the street portion of the count was disproportionately higher than in the total count, with one third of the total street population counted being identified as Aboriginal. It was also observed that women were over-represented on the street count as compared to the shelter and services count.

Summary Credit:
Homelessness-Related Research Capacities in Alberta: A Comprehensive Environmental Scan, prepared by Dr. Katharina Kovacs Burns, MSc, MHSA, PhD and Dr. Solina Richter, PhD, RN for The Alberta Homelessness Research Consortium (2010)

Publication Date: 
2000
Location: 
Calgary, AB, Canada