Today marks Saskatoon’s first yearly Point in Time (PiT) Count for homelessness. PiT counts were previously done every three years, with the last one taking place last year, but the federal government has made the counts annual so they can get a better picture of what homeless numbers are like across the country.

City of Saskatoon Director of Planning and Development Lesley Anderson says that the switch to an annual count means there will be changes in the survey questions asked to the people being counted.

“We do a slightly different version from the full count that we did last year. This year’s is a smaller survey, so less questions and quicker. But doing this on an annual basis lets us better understand the situation in each community.”

The purpose of the survey is to find both statistical data on homelessness in the community and what can be done to help people living on the streets, Anderson says.

“Doing these counts lets us understand some more detailed conditions in our community and where there might be gaps, what might be driving an increase in numbers or hopefully we’ll see decreases as well in future years, to understand why that’s happening. So it helps us to understand what resources are needed, what programs might be beneficial or causing issues and what we will need to address. So it’s the type of evidence that really helps us better plan for the future.”

Anderson adds that while the survey is coordinated by the Government of Canada, communities are able to add questions that they feel may help them in bringing support to people who are homeless.

“The federal government is really looking for that national picture, and then we do ours to understand our local context and then also how that fits in the national picture. So it helps us to understand that we might have different pressure points than another community and then we need to advocate to the federal government or the provincial government differently than might have to happen in another place.”

While today’s PiT Count has already reached the maximum amount of volunteers needed, Anderson encourages people to do their part to help homeless people in the community.

“There are a number of very hard working community organizations that would be open for volunteers to assist them or for financial donations as well. And people can look for those opportunities throughout our community because we have a lot of really good community organizations that would be looking for some assistance.”

The PiT Count will run today from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.