Number of unhoused using shelters in Quebec up by 15%

The number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise in Quebec. According to a census conducted during a single night in 2024, there has been a 15 per cent increase in sheltered homelessness over the past year and a half.

According a Health Ministry’s report on the enumeration exercise of sheltered homelessness, carried out on the night of April 23, 2024, there has been an average annual increase of 42 per cent in sheltered homelessness between 2018 and 2022, representing an increase of eight per cent on an annual basis.

Between the years 2022 and 2024, a 15 per cent increase was observed, equivalent to an average annual increase of 10 per cent.

Abitibi-Témiscamingue is the region with the highest percentage change, with 72 per cent growth over 2022 data. Côte-Nord is the second region with the greatest increase (52 per cent), followed by Laval (40 per cent) and Montérégie (27 per cent).

This type of census does not include homeless people who find shelter in subway stations or 24-hour restaurants, or who sleep on the street, in their car or in a tent. Nor does it include hidden homelessness, such as a homeless person who sleeps a few nights at an acquaintance’s house.

The ministry’s report, published on Friday, shows that 9,307 people were homeless on the night of April 23, 2024. Nearly 42 per cent of the estimated number of homeless people housed were in Montreal.

To arrive at this total, a census of all points of service able to offer shelter and housing to people experiencing homelessness was carried out on the evening of April 23. All regions of Quebec participated, with the exception of Nunavik and Terres-cries-de-la-Baie-James.

The report calculated that there were 623 points of service across the province offering shelter and transitional housing to people experiencing homelessness, for a total of 12,451 places. Average occupancy rates were 85 per cent for accommodation intended solely for homeless people.

A similar exercise was carried out for the winter hot-spots. There were 55 warming-houses open during the 2023-2024 winter period, including 17 open on the night of April 23. These resources are accounted for on a voluntary basis. The ministry indicates in its report that adjustments have been made for non-participating resources.

The average occupancy rate of drop-in centers was 106 per cent on the night of April 23. In Montreal, the night-time temperature was around four degrees that night.

The Ministry reminds us in its report that the total number of homeless people estimated does not include those in hidden homelessness, those in outdoor locations and those sheltered, for example in encampments. “Statistical adjustments need to be made to be able to compare this number with the results of previous enumeration exercises,” reads the report.

The next visible homeless count will take place on April 15. Hundreds of volunteers take part in this activity, which estimates the number of people experiencing visible homelessness on any given night. At the last count on October 11, 2022, no fewer than 10,000 people were counted as being homeless, a 44 per cent jump in five years.

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–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews