Vast majority of Whitehorse's homeless population Indigenous, survey suggests

Results from a surveysuggest that the vast majorityof those who are homeless or "provisionally accommodated" in Whitehorse are Indigenous.

The "Point in Time,"or "PiT" count was done over a 24-hour period on April 17. It was organized by the Yukon Planning Group on Homelessness, alongwith the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition and the Council of Yukon First Nations.

It was the second PiTcount in Whitehorse (the first was in 2016), andis part of a larger initiative to measure homelessness across Canada. Sixtycommunities across the country are taking part in PiT counts.

The PiT count is funded by the federal government.

Fifty-two trained volunteers and front-line workers conducted surveys around Whitehorse streetsand through support services and institutions. They found 195 people who could be considered homeless.

According to Kate Mechan, who is with the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition and co-ordinated the PiT count, 82 per cent of those countedidentified as Indigenous.

"That's just mind-blowing if you do the math on that, and it's unacceptable in a community this strong. And we have strong leadership fromKwanlinDun [First Nation] and fromTa'an[Kwach'an Council], through the 'Safe at Home' plan, to change that," Mechan said.

"Butwe need to flip the coin, and First Nations can't just be stakeholders. They just can't be token-izedpartners at the table."

Mechan says First Nations know the solutions they need in their own community, and it's up to everybody tolisten.

Charlotte Hrenchuk, of the Yukon Planning Group on Homelessness, agrees.

"That's really a telling statement about our society, that First Nations people, in their own homeland, are finding themselves homeless," said Hrenchuk.

This year's PiTcount found28 people who were "unsheltered" on the night of April 17.

"That means they were sleeping rough, more or less,"said Mechan.

Another 33 were staying in an emergency shelter, and 134 were considered "provisionally accommodated."

"That means no security of tenure, a real uncertainty of where they might be from day to day," Mechan said.

She hopes the count's resultshelpimprove the response to homelessness in the territory.

10 C during the count

The last PiT count, in April 2016, found 256 people either homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Mechan says the conditions were much different this year, with colder weather.

"The weather was night and day.The weather in 2016 was beautiful and warm, and this year it was 10 C. So that is really going to have an impact, for example on your unsheltered numbers, and the way people are moving around the city to stay warm at night," she said.

Organizers ofthe PiT count say it's a good way to measure homelessness, but it can't give a complete picture of the complexities of the issue.