More than 2,300 people homeless in Waterloo Region, point-in-time report finds

New reports shed light on homelessness crisis We're getting a better look at the scale of the homelessness crisis in Waterloo Region. Hannah Schmidt reports.

A new point-in-time (PiT) report, conducted in October, found that 2,371 people were experiencing homelessness in the Region of Waterloo.

That’s more than double the number reported in 2021, when 1,085 people said that they were unhoused.

“The growth in the rates of chronic homelessness occurring in our community is consistent with the 28 per cent year-over-year growth that we have seen annually since 2020, as reported in the Key Findings report of the Plan to End Chronic homelessness (September 2023),” read a statement from Region of Waterloo Housing Services. “If the 28 per cent annual increase in chronic homelessness continues, the community will have triple the number of residents experiencing chronic homelessness by 2028.”

The federal government requires communities to do a PiT count every two years, which is comprised of two parts: the enumeration (count) and the Survey on Homelessness.

The PiT count in Waterloo Region was completed by regional staff, in partnership with community service providers.

The PiT count process

The rise in homelessness is explained, in part, by the increased overall involvement from community partner agencies and service providers, the growing number of people in the region who are unsheltered, and by changes to the count itself.

This year’s PiT count, for example, was completed with the support of 40 community agencies, including three hospitals, two correctional institutions, rural and Indigenous partners. All seven of the region’s municipalities were also included.

As for the list of Target Population Groups, it was created to achieve a more “representative and inclusive dataset” that captured populations that have higher rates of hidden homelessness, including newcomers to Canada, the Indigenous population, veterans, women and the gender-diverse.

“This achieved a robust and far-reaching enumeration and survey achievement, which included both major hospital and incarceration institutions,” the report read.

The Region of Waterloo Housing Services noted that the 2021 PiT count took place during an active wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, several planned efforts were either modified or cancelled due to measures that challenged in-person engagement and implementation of PiT count processes. Staffing was also an issue across the system which impacted the overall participation in the count.

Region’s plan

The 2025 Draft Operating Budget included $60.9 million for homelessness initiatives. That includes a $10.2 million investment for the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness (PECH), which was approved by regional council in February.

In addition to that, regional staff have requested an additional $6.6 million. That will be brought forward at the Strategic Planning and Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday.

As for immediate next steps, regional staff say they will conduct additional data analysis with help from co-creators and consultants with lived experience.

A more detailed analysis of disaggregate data will be presented to the Community and Health Services Committee in early 2025.