By Jill Sperling

Volunteers take part in first national Point-in-Time homeless count in Kamloops

Mar 28, 2018 | 4:27 PM

KAMLOOPS — Throughout March and April, 60 communities will participate in the national Point-in-Time homeless count. 

On Wednesday, volunteers hit the streets of Kamloops to survey this city’s homeless populations. 

Previously, the homeless count was organized by ASK Wellness. This was the first time the city participated in the national count. 

Because of a few differences this year, such as the time of year and who was being counted, organizers were expecting slightly different results. 

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With clipboards in hand and bags filled with survival essentials volunteers hit the streets, hoping to find some of Kamloops’ most vulnerable population. 

“We don’t really know everyone’s story, everyone has one, and most of the people we encounter are really great people who have had some really tough things happen,” said volunteer Kalie McIntosh. 

As a youth housing support worker, McIntosh is no stranger to street outreach, but on Wednesday she was a first time participant in the national Point-in-Time count. 

“Maybe meet some new youth that we haven’t connected with before and let them know about different services, and just to make sure everyone knows where they can stay if they’re homeless, or what kind of supports and connections we can get them,” McIntosh said. 

For the first time in Kamloops, every age demographic was included in one count. It was one of several changes this year. 

“In previous years, the counts have been done in the fall,” said coordinator Lisa Bajkov. “We’re doing our count in the spring. We are also doing a shelter count, which hasn’t been done in the past, and we’re also including the hidden homeless.” 

Last year’s homeless count identified 100 homeless people living in Kamloops. Bajkov expects the number to be somewhat higher this year due to changes with the count as well as the potential impact of last summer’s wildfires.

“It’s kind of like checking a bank account on a regular basis,” Bajkov said. “You want to make sure that everyone that is within our community is accounted for, and it allows us to, now that the federal government is involved, actually report those numbers to the federal government, and it will allow policy makers to re-allocate resources or to establish more resources.”

While the numbers are important, so is the health and welfare of all survey participants. 

Volunteers received training on how to administer Naloxone, and anyone counted received a backpack containing items to make life on the streets a little easier.