Lethbridge saw a 15% increase in homelessness from 2022 to 2024: report

CTV News

7 days ago

Lethbridge city council heard, in an update on its homeless encampment strategy, that more camps were found in the city.
More people are experiencing homelessness in Lethbridge than two years ago, according to the results of a recent report conducted by the City of Lethbridge.
The 2024 Point-in-Time (PiT) Count shows there were 522 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city, compared to 454 in 2022, a 15 per cent increase.
'At first glimpse, it would be nice to see that number showing a negative increase – that we've actually been improving our situation as it relates to homelessness in our community – but I do think there are some promising underlaying stats there,' said Andrew Malcolm, general manager of community social development with the City of Lethbridge.
The report shows while the number has grown, the rate of increase has 'slowed significantly,' dropping from an average annual growth rate of 19.5 per cent between 2018 and 2022, to 7.1 per cent annually between 2022 and 2024.
Of the 522 people counted, 92 of them were staying in emergency shelter, 274 stayed in an unsheltered location such as a park, bus shelter or car, 64 people were in transitional housing and 82 people stayed in institutional settings with out a permanent home to return to.
'We're also seeing higher volumes on the street as well,' said Cameron Kissick, chief operations officer with Streets Alive Mission.
'It's different demographics then we're used to dealing with, so we're seeing a bit of an increase.'
The report says Indigenous individuals accounted for 68 per cent of those who disclosed their racial identity.
The majority of people experiencing homelessness were male and between the ages of 25 and 44.
The report says although 81 per cent of respondents had accessed emergency shelters in the past year, many reported avoiding them due to 'safety concerns and overcrowding.'
High rent costs, lack of income assistance and low income were listed as the most cited obstacles, according to the report.
'I'm hopeful that some of the things that we've put in place over the last three to five years are starting to have an effect on that number,' said Malcolm.
'We have built some stronger collaborations, we've seen investment from all three levels of government into the area of homelessness and housing, and we've seen some changes around Indigenous-led solutions being led by the government of Alberta and Blood Tribe Department of Health.'
On Oct. 8, 2024, a team of staff took to the streets of downtown Lethbridge and other identified areas between 6 and 10 p.m. to reach those unsheltered. The teams asked screening questions such as age, gender, ethnicity, history of homelessness and health challenges.
People that wished not to participate but demonstrated qualities consistent with homelessness were recorded on a tally sheet with a description to validate their assessment, according to the report.
Malcolm says programs and initiatives put forward by the city have yielded positive results over the recent years.
'This 2024 count was before the shelter expansion and a number of housing projects that have been recently announced have come online, so we're hopeful those projects will further influence the trend as we will be looking at our PiT count in 2025,' explained Malcolm.
Malcolm says the encampment strategy has triaged more than 2,200 encampment-related sites since 2023, with more than 85,000 kilograms of debris removed.
The city says since it brought outreach services in-house, there have been a 263 per cent increase in outreach intakes, and a 318 per cent increase in referrals.
From August 2024 to April 2025, 19 people exited homelessness, compared to none the previous year.
Malcolm says the report reinforces the urgent need for expanded shelter capacity, affordable housing options and trauma-informed, culturally appropriate supports.
For support providers like Streets Alive, Kissick says more housing supports are needed to help make a 'true difference.'
'It would be nice to see supports go with each other, rather than just housing or just mental health supports or just addictions treatment – to having them run concurrently with each other so that you're able to offer more of a well-rounded support,' said Kissick.