The number of homeless has more than doubled for the Delta/White Rock area in the last three years, according to a preliminary data report released Monday.
The 2017 homeless count figures are listed as 46 homeless for the area compared to 19 in 2014.
Half of the 46 were listed as unsheltered (people living outside or couch surfing) while the other half were sheltered (including those staying in homeless shelters, transition houses and extreme weather shelters).
Local volunteer coordinator Barb Westlake noted almost 100 per cent of the unsheltered homeless were counted in Delta.
That includes 10 youth, a figure that's "shocking," Westlake says, noting their average age was 16.
Factors contributing to the increase in local homeless count numbers, besides the rising cost of housing, included "instrumental" help from the municipality's corporate social planner in collaborating with other agencies, a youth pilot project (with involvement from the Boys and Girls Club and school board) and a new search along waterways, explained Westlake.
Volunteers counted unsheltered homeless locally while "sheltered" Delta homeless were counted in shelters in other municipalities, she explained.
The report notes the homeless count, conducted in early March, provides a 24-hour snapshot of people who were homeless in the Metro Vancouver region.
There were 3,605 homeless counted, a 30 per cent increase for the region compared to 2014.
"This extraordinary increase in both the amount and spread of homelessness shows us that the problem continues to grow despite all efforts and commitments to stem the tide," said Metro Vancouver housing committee chair Mike Clay in a media release. "Homelessness is no longer a problem isolated to densely-populated urban areas - it affects every corner of Metro Vancouver."
The homeless count is conducted every three years. Its goals are to estimate the number of homeless, obtain a demographic profile of the homeless and identify long-term trends in the number and profile of people who are homeless.
