Homeless count first of its kind in Alberta

It was a first for the province and the country, as cities across Alberta set out to provide one of the most accurate counts of the homeless population ever.

Every jurisdiction across the region set out Thursday night at the same time, looking through parks, alleys, and shelters.

“Tonight is a point-in-time count, where we recognize those living on the street to make sure we know who they are, where they are and how they got there,” Calgary Homeless Foundation President and CEO Diana Krecsy said.

Thirty organizations and 150 volunteers took part in the tally in Calgary.

Over the course of three hours, they looked at those who were sleeping “rough”, in emergency shelters, short-term supportive housing and public systems.

There’s no word yet on how this year’s count fared.

According to the CHF, the count serves two functions: it provides a current snapshot of our overall homeless population and enables agencies to examine how this population changes overtime.

Back in January of this year volunteers counted 3,533 homeless people living in Calgary.

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