The number of homeless people accessing services is growing in Prince George.
Around 100 homeless men, women, and youth lined up at the Native Friendship Centre Tuesday morning for “Connect Day”.
Coordinator for “Community Partners Addressing Homelessness ” Karey Pateman says resources from around the city are brought in to help make life on the street a little easier and she expected even more people to show up throughout the day.
“We connect people with the women’s shelter, we’ve got Ketso Yoh men’s shelter, we’ve got the homeless intervention project with the Ministry of Social Development and Innovation, we have the ‘Celebrate Recovery Group’,” she says. “People line up for hours. We’ve got a number of different agencies here. We also have haircuts, lunch, and a backpack survival kit, as well,.”
She says the number of homeless has remained the same in the city, but the demographic is shifting to an older population and more families.
“The conditions of mental health issues and addictions, that’s becoming more complex, for sure,” Pateman explains. “Our health system isn’t set up to deal with some of these complex issues.”
The increase of industrial development has also played a hand in the increase of homelessness, according to Pateman. “Throughout the North, in some of the resource communities, it’s become very expensive to live, so we’re seeing those people come to live in Prince George.”
In June, Patemen says 226 people in shelters or agencies across the city filled out a survey, identifying themselves as homeless.
Six years ago, Pateman says they would give out 75 backpacks during this event, but now they give out 250 backpacks.
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