Homeless count results to be released this fall

Volunteer support was excellent for a homeless count in Williams Lake.

Properties manager for the Cariboo Friendship Society, Dustin Westerman says the only thing that didn’t cooperate for Tuesday’s count was the weather.

He says they had walking routes as well as drop sites such as the TRU campus.

“It a was long shot,” he says. “The thing about the homeless count is it’s not just the street homeless that they’re trying to get numbers for. It’s also a college student who can’t find rent because there’s no place to rent in Williams Lake, so they’re staying on a friend’s couch or staying with a relative-well technically in the eyes of BC Housing and the government they’re homeless.”

Westerman says the campus was the only drop site that did not see any activity. He says there is a big stigma to homelessness and that some people might not have wanted to do a survey.

A homeless count also took place Tuesday in Quesnel.

Results from the counts won’t be released by the province until sometime this fall.

“I spent 12 years working in the homeless shelter here for the Cariboo Friendship Society so we know that there is nothing to rent out there and we know that rent is really high and that people can’t afford it,” Westerman says. “It’s been going down that way for a number of years and it’s a province-wide thing; it’s not just in Williams Lake, it’s everywhere.”