Homelessness significantly increased in Nipissing District, latest count finds

An official count of the number of people in the Nipissing District experiencing homelessness shows 'significant' increase.

There has been a significant increase in homelessness in the region according to the latest survey from the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB).

A coordinated count of the number of people experiencing homelessness in the Nipissing District took place over 24 hours Oct. 9.

As required by the federal government, the count includes people in emergency shelters, unsheltered locations, public institutions, hidden homelessness -- such as couch surfers -- and transitional housing.

Social service agencies, homelessness service providers, health care facilities, municipalities, and correctional facilities across the region participated.

READ: Report confirms spike in the number of homeless people in Ontario

The data compiled revealed a total of 531 unhoused individuals across the district.

This represents a 77 per cent increase from the 2021 count of 300 and an 81 per cent increase from the 2020 count of 293.

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Inclusion of transitional housing

Melanie Shaye, the Chief Administrative Officer of the DNSSAB, said the last time the count was done was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the items that was counted in the federal count is individuals living in transitional housing, which in Nipissing, we actually see people living in transitional housing as a success,” Shaye said.

“We’ve increased the number of transitional housing units in our district. So, although the numbers are deeply concerning, we also need to be cautious about understanding how the numbers are put together.”

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The planning and execution of Nipissing Counts 2024 was guided by Nipissing District Housing and Homelessness Partnership (NDHHP).

The initiative was funded by the Canadian government’s ‘Reaching Home Strategy’.

The local social services agency said the objective of the survey is to gather demographic, numerical and community need information on the district’s homeless population to better understand the challenges individuals experiencing homelessness are facing.

Transitional housing seeing success

Shaye highlights the success of the Northern Pines transitional housing complex on Chippewa Street, which is helping people move to more independent living.

“It really meets individuals where they’re at and helps them build up the life supports, stabilization needs that they have and gets them on a path to actually being able to live completely independently,” she said.

“So when they start living at Northern Pines in the first phase, they would not be preparing their own meals. They would be getting help with doing their own laundry. As they progress through, they would then become more independent to eventually prepare their own meals, do their own laundry and maintain their own unit.”

The individuals lease their unit.

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“It really gets them to a place that they can be ready to go out to the private market or to another landlord to be able to live all on their own,” Shaye said.

Given the difficulty in accurately measuring the extent of local homelessness, the Nipissing Counts 2024 information and data is also compared with other homelessness data sources to improve understanding and estimation of the homeless population.

Some key findings include 81 per cent of homeless individuals were single adults, 61 per cent identified as male and 48 per cent identified as Indigenous.

According to the data:

• 138 were staying in unsheltered situations including in encampments and vehicles
• 130 were staying in an emergency or violence against women shelter
• 117 were staying in public institutions with no fixed address like hospitals, treatment facilities or jails,
• 80 were experiencing hidden homelessness including couch-surfing
• 66 were staying in transitional housing

“These findings highlight a growing and urgent challenge in Nipissing District, with more individuals and families experiencing homelessness,” DNSSAB chairman Mark King is quoted as saying in a news release.

“This data provides us with crucial insight into the realities of homelessness in our communities. These numbers represent real people who are facing increasingly difficult circumstances.”

Surveys were extended for up to seven days in areas outside of North Bay in recognition of the hidden nature of homelessness in more rural municipalities and limited social service locations in these areas.

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