More than 2,300 people are homeless in Waterloo region, new point-in-time count finds

In three years, the number of people who are homeless in Waterloo region has doubled a new report says.

A point-in-time count completed on Oct. 22 found 2,371 individuals said they were experiencing homelessness in Waterloo region.

That's up from 1,085 people who were homeless when a a point-in-time count was done in September 2021. 

The numbers are in a report that is part of the agenda for the region's community services committee meeting set to be held next Tuesday.

The report says the fourth point-in-time count took place over a 24-hour period and was completed by regional staff and with help from more than 40 community agencies. It notes chronic homelessness in the region has been increasing at an average growth rate of 28 per cent year-over-year since 2020.

"Homelessness has most certainly and critically risen in numbers and visibility, exacerbating existing difficulties for individuals experiencing homelessness and the services within the system," the report says. "This trend warrants careful analysis to understand the underlying factors and implications faced in our region."

The report comes as local municipal leaders grapple with how to handle encampments. Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett has joined some other city mayors, including Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, in signing a letter requesting Premier Doug Ford use the notwithstanding clause to help cities clear encampments.

The mayors say the clause is necessary because of a court ruling that said the Region of Waterloo could not use a bylaw to clear an encampment on regional property in Kitchener until there were enough shelter beds for everyone in the encampment.

To do so would violate Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it went against the rights to life, liberty and security of the person for those living in the encampment, the ruling said.

The notwithstanding clause is in Section 33 of the Charter and allows governments to temporarily override other sections of that document.

Last week, Ford stopped short of saying he would use the notwithstanding clause, but did say the province would stand behind mayors who cleared encampments.

In response to the letter from the mayors, more than 40 municipal councillors issued their own letter calling for the mayors to rescind their request and for Ford to ignore it.

On Nov. 13, encampments were cleared in both Guelph and Cambridge. Julie Kalbfleisch is the director of communications for Sanguen Health which has a community health van that travels around the region and Guelph to help people who are homeless by providing medical attention.

She says moving people out of encampments makes it difficult for advocates and health-care providers to find them again and ensure they have what they need.