BURNABY, B.C. -- Nearly 70 homeless camps have sprouted up across Metro Vancouver in what local politicians say is a system-wide failure affecting the area's most vulnerable people.
Initial results from the regional district of Metro Vancouver's 2017 homeless count show there were 3,605 people identified as being homeless on March 8, up 30 per cent from the last regional count in 2014.
The survey covers almost two dozen members in the Metro Vancouver region and takes place once every three years. The count includes people staying in temporary housing such as shelters and on the street, but advocates caution that the actual number of homeless could be much higher.
Mike Clay, Port Moody's mayor and chairman of Metro Vancouver's Housing Committee, said the latest numbers show the problem continues to grow and spread across the region.
"Homelessness is no longer a problem isolated to densely-populated urban areas -- it affects every corner of Metro Vancouver," he said in a statement.
The count indicated Vancouver has the highest homeless population, at 2,138 people, followed by Surrey, with 602.
Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read is a member of the district's homelessness task force and their count of 70 camps shows there is a "system-wide failure" to help the homeless.
"Housing is the responsibility of the provincial government and local governments incur significant ongoing costs in simply trying to help people who are homeless within their communities," she said in a statement.
A report on the survey prepared by the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association and M. Thomson Consulting found that 556 of those counted were aged 55 and older, representing 23 per cent of the homeless population. Another 378, or 16 per cent, were 24 years old or younger.
The report also said 2,573 people were sheltered, living in shelters, transition houses, safe houses, hospitals, jails or detox facilities. Another 1,032 were counted as being unsheltered.
Metro Vancouver is calling on provincial politicians to commit to the regional district's homelessness action plan, which includes opening 1,000 units of transitional housing each year for the next three years.
Kishone Roy, CEO of the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association, acknowledged that the provincial and federal governments have recently made "significant investments" to address housing affordability.
But more needs to be done, he said.
"As homelessness has increased in our region, the calls for greater and urgent government action are getting louder."
A final report on the regional homelessness count is expected later this year, offering details about how long people have been homeless, services they tend to use and any barriers they face to finding permanent housing.
