Numbers only tell one side of the story: Street navigator on homelessness in HRM

The latest data from the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia (AHANS) shows 500 people in the HRM are experiencing homelessness as of Mar. 15. More than 61 per cent of those experiencing homelessness identify as men.

CITY news halifax \ Stephen Wentzell

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An upcoming study is likely to show a spike in the rate of homelessness in the Halifax Regional Municipality, according to one facilitator on the project.

Eric Johnson is a street outreach navigator in Halifax and is running the HRM’s Point in Time program this year.

As part of the Point in Time program, Jonsson explained that his role is to count how many people are experiencing homelessness in the HRM when the initiative begins in April.

According to Jonsson, the federally funded program takes place every couple of years. But because of COVID-19, this year’s survey will be the first since 2018.

In an interview with CityNews, Jonsson noted that he expects a jump in the number of reported individuals experiencing homelessness in HRM.

“We all know that Halifax has changed a lot in the last four years,” Jonsson said, adding, “it will be no surprise to anybody that there will be a lot more people on the Point in Time [count] compared to 2018.”

Getting an accurate count isn’t easy. Jonsson noted that while some people are in shelters, others are in hotels due to COVID-19 outbreaks while some are sleeping outside.

“I think everybody wants to see less homeless people in Halifax,” he said. “If we don’t know the total number of people who are homeless … we don’t know if we’re succeeding in our goals or not.”

The latest data from the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia (AHANS) shows 500 people in the HRM are experiencing homelessness as of Mar. 15. More than 61 per cent of those experiencing homelessness identify as men.

AHANS found that nearly one in five people experiencing homelessness in the HRM are Indigenous, while nearly 18 per cent identify as being of African descent.

The numbers are even starker when it comes to chronic homelessness, which is defined as individuals who remain unhoused for longer than six consecutive months. More than three in four people currently experiencing homelessness in Halifax are considered chronically homeless.

Jonsson is hopeful his count will be “pretty close to a comprehensive understanding of how many people are homeless at any given time [in the HRM].”

He explained that the Point in Time program is an opportunity one day every two years to see whether rates of homelessness are rising or shrinking in a community.

“Numbers tell one story, but they don’t say [anything about] all the barriers that certain people would face to being housed and if they’re struggling with their mental health or if they try to receive supports, but they can’t,” Jonsson added.