City of Ottawa taking snapshot of homeless population as shelters grapple with rising demand

The City of Ottawa is hoping to learn this week just how many residents in the capital are homeless.

A "point-in-time count" began at noon Wednesday and will end at noon Thursday to provide a snapshot of the city's homeless population, with the goal of shaping better policies to support them.

A point-in-time count is a 24-hour event where outreach teams canvass outdoor areas and gather information from shelters and transitional housing to obtain an estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness.

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The count will include known locations of both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.

The last point-in-time count was conducted in 2021 and found 1,340 people across 114 locations in Ottawa. A count was also conducted in 2018, which surveyed 1,400 people across 118 sites.

The effort also includes a survey on homelessness that will be conducted over five days, ending at 4 p.m. Monday.

"The survey period has been extended this year to enable a more representative sample, including populations that are often missed or undercounted, such as youth, women, Indigenous peoples and those experiencing hidden homelessness, such as staying with friends or family," the City of Ottawa said in a news release.

In 2021, nine per cent of people experiencing homelessness were staying on the streets, up from five per cent during the survey in 2018. Fifty-five per cent of people experiencing homelessness in Ottawa in 2021 were staying in shelters, down from 67 per cent three years earlier, and more than half said they had been homeless for more than 180 days in the previous year. More than a quarter of survey respondents said the reason they were homeless was because of a lack of income.

Only steps away from City Hall, Rob — who calls himself "Rob the Main man" — spends his day. At night, the 64-year-old stays in a precarious rooming home, but not for much longer, he says.

"I'm looking for a new place because they're tearing my place down end of November, demolishing the place, I'm looking hard finding the place."

But that search, not easy. "Can't afford a place," he says.

His story is just one of the many the City of Ottawa is looking to learn about.

"The purpose of the point in time count is to get a snapshot of the homelessness situation for our situation in Ottawa, but it is a nationally coordinated effort. So, it's being done coast to coast across Canada," said Raynor Boutet, program coordinator of housing initiatives at the City of Ottawa.

About 200 outreach workers, checking every part of the city.

Ottawa's shelters say they're facing unprecedented demand in 2024. The Ottawa Mission's most recent report says it is dealing with a record-breaking surge of homelessness and food insecurity. The Mission says it serves an average of 3,103 meals every day.

Ottawa Mission CEO Peter Tilley says the information from the survey will allow a better understanding of the situation in Ottawa.

"With that data, we can then move forward to designing programs with the City of Ottawa that will work around getting these people out of homelessness and into housing. What are the barriers that they're facing? What are the instances that have brought them to this state that we can now move forward on," he said.

Tilley expects the results of this count to be higher from 2021,

"We've seen a surge, record numbers of people accessing our services. I would be surprised if the numbers aren't higher. Much higher than they were when."

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Any resident who is experiencing hidden homelessness can contact 3-1-1 to complete the survey by phone.

Residents can also contact the Point-in-Time Count Command Centre at [e-mail] or at 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) to obtain information on locations where they can complete the survey in person. 

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling