The Windsor and Essex County Homeless Coalition will be conducting its second survey to find out how many people are homeless in the city.
The last survey conducted two years ago found that at any given time, there are 201 people living on the streets of Windsor. That was the first census of its kind, but the coalition is now mandated to conduct a survey every two years to gauge the level of homelessness.
Community Developer Angela Yakonich fully expects this survey will find the level of homelessness has increased, not just because of the opioid crisis, but because there are more partners involved.
"We have actually partnered with the public school board. They are allowing us to do some of the surveys at some of the high schools," she says. "With youth homelessness, we know a lot of people are couch surfing, right? So it's hidden homelessness."
The coalition will need volunteers to carry out the work. Yakonich says anyone over the age of 18, who can easily walk a kilometre can help. All volunteers will receive training and work in teams alongside staff at partnering agencies.
"We are looking at more than a kilometre for each route," she says. "There's three different shifts. The first one is April 17 from 3pm to 7pm. The second one is the same day from 8pm to 11pm. And the last one is the following morning, April 18 from 6am to 9am."
Anyone who wants to help can register online and search Point in Time Count volunteering.
The survey will help identify those who are most in need of immediate housing.
"it's like a triage system, similar to what they use in a hospital," says Yakonich. "It gives us an idea where people are at and scores them on acuity. We can place them on the list based on needs, so the higher needs clients will be given services first."
Out of the survey in 2016, the City of Windsor had hoped to create a "by-names list" streamlining services, so clients were not sent from agency to agency looking for help. It was supposed to be set up by this April, and Yakonich says it will be.
The approach has been successful in other parts of the country.
