The 2005 Homeless Count was conducted to gain a ‘snapshot’ of the Homeless population in Lethbridge. The purpose is to provide information to assist in the planning of the recent Homeless Initiative. Revisions made to the process from the previous Count, will not provide for comparison with previous pilot count in 2004 as a different method had been used. Some changes to the Count included: an amendment of definitions; new questions in the data collection forms; the exclusion of the ‘at-risk’ category; and, increased specification regarding the type of agency information that would be added to the total ‘Homeless’ data. To clarify the extent of the limitations involved in this type of research, the Count also incorporates qualitative information gained through interviews and literature. In maintaining consistency, it was once again conducted on October 6th and includes those individuals staying at an agency who would otherwise not have had a safe place to stay. Key findings: On that evening, a total of 29 people who reported as being ‘Homeless’ were counted on the Street. There were 27 people counted as ‘Homeless’ within the Emergency Shelters. There were also 36 people counted as ‘Homeless’ in Transitional housing agencies. Between the Street and Agency data, we also found 77 individuals were ‘Unable to Find Affordable Housing’ in our community. In total, 131 individuals were reported as ‘Homeless and/or Unable to Find Affordable Housing’. An additional 22 locations where there was evidence of people ‘sleeping rough’ were found. Based on the Raising the Roof premise of hidden homeless of 80%, the inclusion of the additional 80% would indicate that 224 ‘Hidden’ individuals reside in Lethbridge, resulting in a total of 280 ‘Homeless’ individuals in our community.

It was also found that, between the affordable housing agencies, there were 417 people on waitlists. This means that, of the 410 existing units, there are an equal number still needing affordable accommodation. This problem is compounded with the inclusion of the 366 Treaty 7 Housing applications that are not included, but ‘in process’. Recommendations for strategies are developed based on these findings.

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)