What is homelessness?

When we think of someone who is homeless, we often have an idea in our minds of someone living on the street. But homelessness takes many forms.

Our recent survey, called the Point-in-Time count, revealed that many people experiencing homelessness in our community are in hospitals, correctional facilities or emergency shelters, or even staying with family or friends. People with no housing security or who are couch surfing are all considered to be experiencing homelessness.

How did they end up homeless? The causes of homelessness reflect an intricate interplay between structural factors, systems failures and individual circumstances. Those surveyed provided many different reasons and situations for their housing loss, but the leading causes were:

• Inability to pay their rent or mortgage
• Unsafe housing conditions
• Conflict with a spouse or partner, parent or guardian, landlord or other person

Other factors included domestic violence, family breakdown, loss of employment, aging out of the child welfare system, and a lack of affordable housing and lack of social supports. These issues affect all age groups. Anyone can find themselves homeless. To find out more, visit the 2024 PiT Count Dashboard.

Did you know that the Point-in-Time count is a nationally coordinated effort to capture information about homelessness in Canada that is completed every 3 years? For the 2024 edition, the City took a personalized approach that helped connect with those experiencing homelessness.