The biennial Point in Time Count will capture a snapshot of what homelessness looks like in the Thunder Bay District right now.
The count is held every two years over a 24-hour period. It was last held in Spring 2018 and was set to happen in spring 2020, but was delayed by the pandemic.
Ken Ranta is the Director of Social Services with the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board, and says workers will be meeting people at various places across the city.
The main count is happening at the CLE Coliseum from 6PM Saturday to 6PM Sunday, and will also include resources and a COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
“We have a large number of volunteers and volunteer organizations that are helping to participate in both the gathering of information, the delivery of surveys, and also the provision of food and snacks and other resources for the individuals that are being counted,” he says.
Unhoused people can participate in the survey anonymously, or give their name and contact information to workers who can connect them with services.
The count will also be held at People Advocating for Change through Empowerment (PACE) offices in Nipigon, Schreiber, Greenstone, and Marathon, and at the Rural Cupboard Food Bank in Conmee.
Ranta estimates they will release the first analysis of the results in early November.
That information will help organizations fine-tune their services based on what the homeless population needs.
While they work with with their clients every day, Ranta points out “The opportunity to survey that entire population, if we can reach them, in one point in time, helps us to gather information on who they are, what services they’re accessing currently or not, [and] what needs they may have in addition to just a place to stay.”
The count is funded by the TBDSSAB, and administered in partnership with TBDSSAB, Lakehead Social Planning Council, Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre, and with support from the Rural Cupboard Food Bank, and (PACE).
