The latest figures on homelessness in Whitehorse are out, and it’s not a particularly flattering portrait.

The numbers were the focus of a news conference and release Tuesday morning by advocates for the homeless.

On April 13 and 14, the Reaching Home Community Advisory Board, the Safe at Home Society and 24 local volunteers conducted Whitehorse’s third Point-in-Time (PiT) Homeless Count.

The count found that at least 151 people were homeless during a 24-hour period.

According to those numbers, five people were unsheltered (living on the street, in vehicles, public spaces, or tents) and 38 people were emergency-sheltered at one of three local shelters.

An additional 108 individuals were provisionally accommodated in transitional housing, in a hotel/motel, staying at someone else’s place or in a public institution such as the Whitehorse Correctional Centre and Whitehorse General Hospital, or in programming at Mental Wellness & Substance Use Services.

“This count really gives us a sense of how hidden our homeless population is,” said Kate Mechan, the society’s executive director.

“The vast majority of respondents said they were couch-surfing or living in hotels or motels – these locations are often unsafe and don’t come with the same subset of supports.”

Helen Slama of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition said “this count is a snapshot of homelessness in our community.

“It’s intended to help us understand the challenges facing homeless communities and their families. Homelessness is a persistent injustice, and addressing the root causes of homelessness is more complex than building more affordable housing.”

Mechan told reporters the program used the federal definition of homelessness for its purposes, although she didn’t expand on exactly what that was.

A Google search indicated the definition reads as follows:

“Homelessness is the situation of an individual or family who does not have a permanent address or residence; the living situation of an individual or family who does not have stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.”

Mechan said for the most part, respondents self-identified as homeless, and that was acceptable for the count’s purpose.

“The point-in-time count is intended to catch unsheltered and emergency-sheltered homelessness, where we have a stronger ability to catch people using services, but it also captures hidden homelessness. Every count is different from the last.”

The results show society still has a lot of work to do,” Mechan added.

“Affordability is likely the number one barrier. It starts with housing support, but many people will need support over the entire course of their lives, and that’s all right.”

The reports state 13 per cent of respondents experienced their housing loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fifty-two per cent of survey respondents reported they had been homeless for a full 12 months and another 17 per cent reported being without a place to live between six and 12 months.

“This suggests that homelessness is chronic for many individuals,” the report stated.

As well:

• 41 per cent had experience in foster care or a group home;

• 51 per cent experienced homelessness for the first time before the age of 20;

• 19 per cent reported attending residential school;

• 25 per cent reported having FASD;

• 47 per cent reported having a mental health issue; and

• 54 per cent were from a rural Yukon community or the N.W.T.

Maury Fraser is a Reaching Home Community Advisory Board member with lived experience of homelessness.

“I hope this count forces us to reflect as a community,” Fraser said.

“These are more than just numbers – they are people and families with stories to share and experiences that must inform the solutions to homelessness.”

The PiT Count findings will be used by the advisory board to establish funding priorities moving forward and will “complement the learnings of the Co-ordinated Housing Access Team (CHAT).”

The CHAT table is responsible for prioritizing and matching vulnerable individuals and families to housing and supports using Whitehorse’s By-Name List.

This list, unlike the PiT Count, provides real-time data of the number of individuals experiencing homelessness.

On Tuesday, the Star asked cabinet communications staff for a ministerial-level reaction to the survey’s findings.

There was no response by press time this afternoon.