Hamilton's homeless still face chronic health conditions

Hamilton's streets have not always beenahealthy placeto be, but now the reality is clearer than ever.

More than one-third of homeless residentsfacechronic health conditions, as revealed byThe City of Hamilton'spoint-in-time count of local homelessness. Thestatistic for Hamilton, 38 per cent,is two timeshigher than the overall Canadian population.

There are no shortage of challenges.- AmandaDiFalco,homelessness services coordinator

The count ispart of aCanada-wide effort tofind permanent homes for 20,000 of the most vulnerable people across the country by July 1, 2018. Hamilton's survey took place on February 21-22, 2016by a team of volunteers walking through the city's downtown core, as well as rural and suburban areas.

The results show a pictureof homelessness in Hamilton, detailing the issues and conflicts amongst the victims such as housing stability, chronic health conditions and age barriers.

• Read More: Building a picture of Hamilton's homeless, block by block
• Read More:5 things to know about Hamilton's homelessness count

Of the 504 people surveyed during the count, 72% are male, while 28% are female. Of those surveyed, 28% reported having Aboriginal ancestry.

Housing barriers were revealed to be a major issue for people, with 77 percentstating that they don't have enough money to meet their housing needs. In addition, 138 people reported having severe issues and conditions that impact their housing stability.

Other information gathered:

• 40 percent of thesurveyed population fell between the ages of 31-49.
• 34 percent were between the ages50-64.
• 13 per cent werebetween the ages16-25.
• 9 percent were between the ages26-30.
• 2percent wereaged 65 or higher.
• 215 reported being homeless for less than one year.
• 76 have been homelessfor over five or more years.

The city held a community debrief at City Hall on Friday to discuss the Point-in-Time Count survey results with thepublic.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger highlighted the 'perplexing' long-term problem of homelessness in the city, while AmandaDiFalco,a homelessness services coordinator for the city, stressedthe need for continual improvement.

Many challenges

"We can't help but feel compelled about what we learn from these statistics," DiFalcosaid. "There are no shortage of challenges, but we can't wait for them to go away. This is a time for us to be changemakers and to continue to build bridges."

DiFalco stated that the city would work to house 138 of the most acute individuals by this time next year, a process that is already underway by city staff and housing providers.

Overall, thecity is confident that continued counts and detailed surveyscan help them cater their services to the people who are living in Hamilton, rather than general one-size-fits-all programs.

"Homelessness is in fact a solvable problem," said DiFalco."Our community does great work, but I think there's a willingness to move into a time of action."