District-wide count to provide 'snapshot of homelessness'

As in past years, the District of Nipissing Social Service Administration Board (DNSSAB) and Nipissing District Housing and Homelessness Partnership (NDHHP) through the support of community partners, are taking part in a coordinated effort to measure homelessness across Canada this October.  

In a media release issued Thursday, DNSSAB stated it had received federal funding through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy to oversee the implementation of Nipissing District’s fifth Point in Time (PiT) Count, also referred to as homelessness enumeration.

The 24-hour PiT Count known locally as Nipissing Counts will take place across the district from Wednesday, October 9 at 8 a.m. to Thursday, October 10 at 7:59 a.m. Enumeration will consist of an administrative count of individuals in emergency shelters, public institutions, and transitional housing who do not have a fixed address to return to.

See: Survey counts 300 experiencing homelessness in district over 24-hour period

And: The Ford government says its data was botched — so how many people are homeless in Ontario?

There will also be an anonymous survey administered across the district with individuals who are staying in shelters, transitional housing, couch surfing, and sleeping rough (without shelter). The survey will allow DNSSAB to better understand the demographics and service needs of the community. Areas in Nipissing District but outside of North Bay will have up to seven days to complete surveys, given the nature of hidden homelessness and service delivery in rural communities.

“Even though this count is mandatory, the data gathered through this and previous counts has proved helpful, assisting DNSSAB to direct resources where they are needed, and to plan for the situation in our District,” says DNSSAB Chair, Mark King. “The stability offered by a safe and affordable home has been shown to affect every facet of someone’s life, from their health to employment to education – it is a necessity.”    

Nipissing Counts will provide a “snapshot” of homelessness in the District of Nipissing, indicating the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in the community. The information gathered from these initiatives will help to build a local, provincial, and national picture of homelessness. The PiT Count provides a community-wide measure of homelessness, identifying service needs and informing plans to prevent and reduce homelessness. 

Results from Nipissing Counts will be made publicly available, and DNSSAB will use the results of this initiative to improve the response to homelessness. In the future, successive counts will allow DNSSAB to measure progress towards its commitment as a Built for Zero Community: ending chronic and veteran homelessness in the District of Nipissing.

This is the fifth time the DNSSAB has been involved in a PiT count involving homelessness. In 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021 the DNSSAB conducted a count and survey of homelessness as part of national efforts overseen by the Government of Canada. The results of the previous three PiT Counts can be found in infographic form on the DNSSAB’s open data portal.