Annual count of Metro Vancouver homeless underway after pandemic hiatus

More than 1,000 volunteers have fanned out across Metro Vancouver for the first homeless count since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Homeless Services Association of BC says 11 municipalities across the Lower Mainland are taking part in the 24-hour, point-in-time count, which began Tuesday evening.

The association says its volunteers try to be as accurate as possible in order to understand who is living without safe, affordable, appropriate housing, and why they are in that situation.

The hidden homeless, such as couch surfers or those living in vehicles, are likely under-represented, but the association says the unconventionally housed who have not been counted can call 211 to complete a short, anonymous survey.

A report will be released in the fall examining how the number and type of people experiencing homelessness in Metro Vancouver have changed since the 2020 tally.

That count was completed less than a week before the pandemic was declared and it identified 3,634 people who were experiencing homelessness.