Number of people accessing homeless shelters on the rise across P.E.I.

The number of people accessing homeless shelters across the provinceis on the rise, according to figures released bythe P.E.I. Community Advisory Board on Homelessness.

The Community Advisory Board (CAB)and Rural Advisory Board, under the federal government's Homelessness Partnering Strategy, released theirstatisticsWednesday.

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According to the figures, the number ofwomen accessing beds went up slightly but the largest leap was amonghomeless men 228 men accessed a shelter in 2016 compared to 122 the year before.

The average length of stay inshelter beds wasdown, with individualsspending 10.1 days using a bedon average in 2016 compared to 22 days in 2013.

Number of available beds

The total number of beds available went up to 45 in 2016, with each bed being used just over100 times per year on average.

That's higher than the 2015 figure that shows each shelter bedwasused roughly 73 times per year.

Additionally, urban housingcontinues to worry CAB as the number of available apartments continues to decline, according to their figures.

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Overall apartment vacancyin Summerside and Charlottetown fell in 2016, dropping to 2.1 per cent of units available to rent. Average rent alsoincreasedfor one- and two-bedroom apartments in both urban centres.

This, combined with a growing population across the province, is creating a mismatch with the current need for housing, said the release.

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