2 weeks Ago By Kenneth Armstrong
A recent point-in-time count in Sault Ste. Marie has revealed there are currently 421 people experiencing homelessness in the community, up more than 72 per cent from 2021 when the count was last conducted. The new data comes at a time when Sault Ste.
Marie is applying for one of 19 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs the provincial government is planning to build by 2026. At the same time, the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB) is working on completing its 10-year housing and homelessness plan.
In a report presented Thursday to the board, the results of the first point-in-time (PiT) count in three years noted an additional 177 people over the 244 who were counted in 2021. The count was conducted by Social Services staff, in collaboration with the local Homelessness Prevention Team. Volunteers surveyed individuals staying in shelters, short-term housing, couch-surfing, hospitalized, incarcerated, or living unsheltered, providing a snapshot of the homelessness situation in Sault Ste.
Marie The PiT count is part of a national effort to measure homelessness across the country and was conducted locally in October . Of the 421 individuals who were included as part of the count this year in the Sault, 197 completed a survey that has allowed the DSSAB and its partners a deeper look into the issue of homelessness in Sault Ste. Marie.
Most notably, of the 197 who completed surveys, 141 identified substance use as a contributing factor to their homelessness, while 139 expressed that they had experienced mental health challenges. "Those two pieces of data really highlight the need for a HART Hub in our community," said Louie Bruni, chief operating officer for the DSSAB. Sixty-one per cent of survey respondents identified as male, while 34 per cent were female.
Two per cent identified as other and three per cent did not answer the question on gender. Fifty per cent identified as Indigenous, which was 15 points lower than in 2021 when the last PiT count was conducted. Three per cent of respondents identified as being veterans.
The survey results concluded there has been an increase in chronic homelessness — defined as six months or longer — from 52 per cent in 2021 to 68 per cent in the 2024 PiT count. Those rates are up dramatically from the 2018 PiT count, when only 38 per cent responded that they were experiencing chronic homelessness. Bruni noted the results of the PiT count could have been even worse if not for the many projects the DSSAB, Sault Ste.
Marie Housing Corporation (SSMHC) and community partners have completed in the years since the 2021 count. In total, 103 beds or units have been added to the system in that time through the men's emergency shelter, expanded capacity at Pauline's Place and various bridge units, among others. A four-plex and an 11-plex are currently under construction by the SSMHC and will add to the number of units available in the near future.
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