Will Montreal's homeless count help its unhoused population? Advocates are divided

For the first time since 2018, swaths of volunteers will be fanning out across Montreal starting Tuesday night to count, survey and collect data on thepeople experiencing homelessness in the city.

Designed as a tool to helpdocument homelessness, the survey has lost the support of oneorganization, which says it will not be participatingthis year and describes the count asinconsiderate andinaccurate. Resilience Montreal says the countmay have more negative effects than good.

"There aren'tany homeless that I know of that are looking forwardto being counted," said David Chapman, the executive director of Resilience, in an interview on CBC's Daybreak.

"They don't find it to be the most humanizing thing and it's not something that reassures them."

For several days, more than 1,000 volunteers will be out counting and speaking with all those who are "visibly" homeless in places likestreets, parks, alleys and Metro stations across the city's 19 boroughs.

The city's third edition of the point-in-time head count is intended to produce an estimate of the number of those who are unhoused. A questionnaire will also provide insight into who they are and what services they need.

Facilities like Montreal's emergency shelters and transitional housing programs will also collect and submit the same data in the coming days.

Chapman saysthe numbers from these counts are"nowhere near accurate" as they don't account for "hidden homelessness" such as people who are couch surfing or living in unsuitable housing.

Additionally, he questioned whether more complex issues such as what he describes as the need for an Indigenous-led night shelter in CabotSquare would register on the accompanying questionnaire.

Chapman says the data collectedmay also have dangerouseffects on the most marginalized groups by creating competitions for funding. He says it's important to be cautious about where the countis coming from and whom it is serving.

"Acount like this is really driven by approaches that need to be able to use these sorts of numbers to demonstrate the validity and importanceof a particular approach."

Shelter says data can help improve services

Caroline Dusablon, whooversees urban partnerships for the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'le-de-Montral, says all the volunteers whowill be heading out as of6 p.m. have been trainedon how to approach people experiencing homelessness with respect.

Shesays the trainingalso focused on the realitiesof Indigenous people and members of the LGBTQ community who are facing homelessnessgroups that weredisproportionately represented among Montreal's homeless population in 2018.

This is the first census of homelessnesssince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and it also comes amid a worsening housing crisis.

Some advocates for those experiencing homeless are predicting the number of unhoused people will go up this year compared to 2018, which saw a total of 3,149 people.

Marie-Pier Therrien, a representative for the Old Brewery Mission shelter, saysthe pandemic led to an increase in homelessness in Montreal and some of the resources that opened lastwinter are still running at full capacity.

Therrien says data from the countcan improvethe team's decision-making when asking for funding and creating new programs and services.

"If we're able to identify the risk factor ahead and the type of situation where we can intervene sooner, that's the best outcome we can wish for," saidTherrien.

Sam Watts, CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, says it's one thing to collect this dataon homelessness it's another to act on it.

Watts hopesfinding out just how much Montreal's homelessness problem has grownwill help governments make it more of a priority.

"What we want to have happen is the whole of government to decide we really need to do something about this and so it's going to take that kind of effort and that kind of energy to actually arrive at a solution."

A total of 13 regions across Quebecwill be participating in this year's homeless count.