Ottawa's shelters are busier than ever, and more families, youth and children are finding themselves without a place to call home, according to an annual report card on homelessness in the capital.
The report card, which measured the city's progress on homelessness over the last year, was released Tuesday by the Alliance to End Homelessness.
In 2009, the average stay at emergency shelters for families and individuals jumped to 57 days -- nearly one week longer than the average length of a stay in 2008. Beds at shelters are also in high demand, being used 421,500 times last year.
The advocacy group reports there's also been a jump in the number of families, youth and children who've experienced homelessness in the past year.
The group says homelessness in the capital is a growing problem that stems from a lack of affordable housing. Last year, less than 100 new affordable housing units were built.
The advocacy group calls the city's efforts to tackle the issue "woefully inadequate."
The city scored the following grades, for progress measured from 2008 to 2009:
- Homelessness: D
(7,445 people were homeless in the capital, including 775 families and more than 1,300 children.) - Shelter stay: E
(The average length of a shelter stay is 57 days. The family average was 64 days.) - Housing: C
(Eighty-eight new affordable housing units were built in 2009. More than 10,000 people are on the waiting list.) - Income: C
(Rents are too high for many people.)
The Alliance to End Homelessness has set a goal of moving 500 people out of shelters every year, with the hope of gradually reducing the need for shelters in Ottawa.
