Members of the community who are experiencing homelessness are being asked to take part in a survey next week which aims to provide a “snapshot” of the situation in Belleville.
The anonymous survey is being conducted through the Bridge Street United Church in partnership with Hastings County, as part of Canada’s National Homelessness Strategy and responses will be taken between April 20 and 26.
A similar survey was also done in the area in 2018.
Enumeration Coordinator Craig Olivier says they’re looking for as much information as possible, but there is one area they’re trying to focus on.
“We’re concentrating a lot on the youth and what they call provisional housing. People who couch surf, people who are staying with friends, more the ‘hidden homeless’. We will also be gathering information, of course, on those who are on the streets and the people who are unsheltered, as well as the people who are in the shelters themselves.”
Anyone who feels they are experiencing homelessness can give their responses by phone (343-661-7263).
While in-person gatherings are not being promoted during the pandemic, anyone without access to a phone can stop by the Bridge Street United Church daily lunch, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., or the Salvation Army daily supper, between 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Olivier says that while the survey is anonymous the results will be made public once the results are processed, likely sometime in mid-May, with the goal of identifying gaps in the system that can be addressed moving forward.
