Homelessness in the Cowichan Valley continues to grow.
United Way Central and Northern Vancouver Island performed a Point-In-Time Count in February to get a snapshot of the local homeless community.
Executive Director Signy Madden says 73 people were counted as absolutely homeless – meaning they are sleeping at an emergency shelter or outside. This number went up from 56 in 2014.
The Point-In-Time Count also found 71 people were found relatively homeless, meaning they were couch surfing or in transitional housing, and 37 people who were interviewed were at risk of homelessness. Madden says people who were never homeless before are becoming at risk.
Madden says the cause of homelessness varied from mental health, to addictions, to low housing stock.
