The City of Ottawa, in collaboration with 75 partner agencies, will be undertaking a Point-in-Time (PiT) Count for 24 hours, from noon on April 19 until noon on April 20. The PiT count will provide the City with a snapshot of its homeless population and help develop and implement services, programs and policies that reflect the needs of residents.
The Count is being conducted to fulfill provincial requirements. Through an amendment to the Housing Services Act, 2011, all Ontario municipalities are required to conduct local enumeration of people experiencing homelessness, commencing in 2018 and every two years thereafter. This will also provide the federal government with a better picture of the national homeless population to support their ongoing work to prevent and reduce homelessness across the country.
The Count will be conducted in known locations, including:
- where people staying outdoors spend time
- emergency shelters
- violence-against-women shelters
- day programs
- Indigenous community meals
- community health centres
- social service centres
The Count will also occur at local hospitals, correctional centres, transitional housing and addiction and mental health treatment programs. The City’s Housing Services has also designed walking routes that include known locations of people living on the street, in order to reach residents who do not use shelters or other services.
In order to obtain a complete snapshot of its homeless population, the City plans to reach the hidden homeless. These are individuals and families who do not have permanent housing but are staying with family, friends, neighbours or strangers because they have no other options. Since these households may not be accessing housing supports, they are typically not included in standard statistics regarding homelessness.
Any resident who is experiencing hidden homelessness will be able to contact the City’s PiT Count Command Centre to obtain information on locations they can access to complete the survey in person, such as day programs, community health and resource centres and at Indigenous agencies. Residents can contact the PiT Count Command Centre at pitcount@ottawa.ca or at 3-1-1
Participants will answer a survey about their demographics, family status and history, citizenship, health conditions, race, sexual orientation, language, Indigenous ancestry, reasons for homelessness, military service, and source of income.
For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca or call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401). You can also connect with us through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.