Homeless count shows dramatic increases in homelessness in Thompson-Okanagan

The latest Point in Time count of people living without homes in BC shows the numbers have jumped significantly in the past two to three years.

Only 20 communities participated in this year’s provincial count but all saw increases.

“The results of these counts reinforce our belief that more needs to be done to help the most vulnerable members of our communities,” Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said in a media release issued today, Oct. 5. “Because of global inflation, cities across North America are seeing an increase in vulnerable populations.

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Vernon recorded 279 people living homeless when it did its count in April versus 224 in 2021 while Penticton was up to 166 versus 114 two years early.

Those numbers include people staying in shelters or sleeping rough.

Kamloops did a count through a different process and is expected to release its results tomorrow. In 2021, there were 206 people in Kamloops counted as homeless and that number is expected to have grown substantially since then.

READ MORE: Homeless population in Kamloops could triple 2021 count

Kelowna bylaw and police officers do a daily count so don’t participate in the provincial effort. That city’s latest figures show 265 people sleeping rough in the city, up from 240 in June. There are also about 200 temporary shelter beds in the city.

The only other communities in the region that participated in the count were Merritt, where the number of unhoused people increased to 67 from 43 in 2020, and Salmon Arm where 69 homeless people were recorded. It was the first point in time count for the Shuswap city.

“Point in Time counts are an undercount and represent only those individuals identified during the 24-hour period,” the province said in the release. “The number of people who are experiencing homelessness is greater than what is presented in this report. Despite this, the Point in Time count is an accepted methodological tool for collecting data on homelessness at a single Point-in-Time.”

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