Brandon homeless count to take place Wednesday

Volunteers will fan out across the city of Brandon on Wednesday to try to find out exactly how many people are homeless in the city.

More than 75 volunteers are helping out with the 2016 Point-in-Time (PiT) Homelessness Count, organizers said. Brandon is one of a number of cities and communities across Canada taking part in the count.

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It's the second time the city is taking part in the count; Brandon first participated in2015. The data collected found 117 homeless people in Brandon on Jan. 17, 2015. Nearly half of the respondents, 47 per cent, were under the age of 30 on the day of the count, according to the data.

"[We] chat with them about housing stability and from there, we determine the level of homelessness that we have in Brandon," said Mark Anderson, co-ordinator of PiT.

Anderson said volunteers will focus mainly on central Brandon. More than 50 people will canvass the area, while the remaining volunteers will set up what they call a PiT stop in Princess Park. Volunteers will be out from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The Princess Park PiT stop will have a wellness fair. The free event will feature a stage lineup, food, free haircuts and health checks.

Surveying will also take place at locations such as the Helping Hands Soup Kitchen and Samaritan House Ministries, the city's largest food bank.

Why track homelessness

"Brandon has an unusually high percentage of youth homelessness compared to other centres in the country," Anderson said."And we know that we have a large population of couch surfers too."

Couch surfers are people who don't have a steady home and stay with friends as much as possible, he explained.

Anderson said they aren't sure why youth homelessness is so high in Brandon, but last year's survey ishelpful in determining a responseto the situation.

"It helps as a community to identify our needs," he said. "We have a goal of ending homelessness, so we need to know how we are doing."

The initiative also helps with funding applications for various community groups, Anderson said.

Lastly, the survey helps connect the various groups within the city, he said.

Anderson hopes a preliminary report will beready soon after Wednesday's count. A more comprehensive report to be released at a later date.