On May 15, 2002, The City of Calgary completed the sixth in a series of biennial surveys of various downtown shelter and non-shelter services to determine both the numbers of homeless persons who were served by such services and observed sleeping on the street. Twenty-one participating organizations were asked to record the total number of homeless persons spending the night of 2002 May 15 in their facility. Information was gathered on the number of families (defined as a couple, a couple with children or a single adult with children) and clients' observed age, sex, and racial characteristics (i.e., Aboriginal, Visible Minority or Caucasian). A total of 1737 people were counted. Findings suggest that the numbers of homeless individuals and families in downtown Calgary continue to increase. When comparing the total homeless population by observed racial characteristics, age and sex to previous counts, the most notable trends observed were the increase in total percentage of visible minorities accompanied by the decrease in total percentage of Aboriginal persons, the decrease in the total percentage of children and youth, and the decrease in total percentage of females. The number of Aboriginal persons found on the street portion of the count was disproportionately higher than in the total count, with over 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. A striking finding was the large increase in the number of families without permanent a residence to which they can return whenever they choose.

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)