BARRHEAD - Homelessness and housing security is an issue in Barrhead, according to a survey conducted by the Barrhead and District Family Community Support Services (FCSS) in partnership with Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN).
The survey is part of a larger project by the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) to determine the extent of homelessness in 21 rural communities across the province.
The ARDN is a not-for-profit organization created in 2009 by partnering with the province's 21 public post-secondary institutions. Its mandate is to support rural sustainability through a wide variety of initiatives.
However, the survey results did not surprise FCSS executive director Karen Gariepy, who presented the study results to County of Barrhead councillors during their Oct. 3 meeting.
She told councillors that FCSS staff have been dealing with clients who are either homeless or whose housing needs are insecure and do not meet their needs for several years.
"The real question is just how far-reaching is the issue," Gariepy said.
She said the study categorized the levels of housing insecurity into four classes: unsheltered, absolutely homeless, living on the streets or in places not intended for human habitation; people who are staying in overnight shelters due to homelessness, as well as those staying in shelters due to family violence; provisionally accommodated, those whose accommodation that is temporary or that lacks security for tenure, i.e. couch-surfing, living in transitional housing, living in abandoned buildings, living in places unfit for human habitation, people who are housed seasonally, people in domestic violence situations; people at risk of being homeless, for example, those who are one missed rent payment away from being evicted or those whos accommodations and may be condemned for health, by-law, or safety violations.
The report states that homelessness in rural and remote communities often goes unnoticed or unacknowledged because of its hidden nature.
"And we see that in our own communities," Gariepy said. "[Homelessness] is kept very hush-hush, under the radar, but it is getting to be more and more prominent and harder to hide."
Gariepy said 118 clients from FCSS, the Barrhead Ripple Connection Support Services (RCSS), Barrhead and District Social Housing, and Barrhead Employment Services, with 37 disqualified, primarily due to consent.
Although the survey was anonymous, the only identification asked was for people to provide their initials to ensure no duplication; she said some people were still suspicious of having their information included.
Based on the survey results, in Barrhead, Gariepy said at least 128 individuals are 'housing insecure.
However, she admits the number is likely more than that if they could have included all the data from the disqualified surveys.
ARDN also noted that the survey was limited because those under 14 required guardian consent to participate.
"This is inherently problematic and exclusionary, as most youth experiencing homelessness would not have a guardian present to provide consent ... Therefore, while the trends, highlights, and recommendations made are very informative, it is important to remember that this report presents a conservative picture of the housing and services needs in Barrhead," the report states.
"The top three reasons for home insecurity in Barrhead were low wages, the inability to afford rent or mortgage payments and illnesses or other medical conditions," Gariepy said.
The other thing she said was that the survey identifies how quickly people who are housing insecure situations can change.
"They can be in a shelter one day, totally homeless the next and in secondary housing the next," Gariepy said.
The report also tabulated the types of housing available in the Barrhead municipalities. According to Statistics Canada 2021 Census, out of the 4,035 private in the town, 58.3 per cent are single-family households, while in the county, it increases to 90.5 per cent.
Furthermore, 24.4 per cent of Barrhead households report that they spend more than 30 per cent of their total household income on housing, their dwelling is not suitable or needs major repairs.
The census also reported that Barrhead's cost of living is five per cent higher than the national average but one per cent lower than the provincial average.
Of those who reported being housing insecure, 20 per cent reported paying $500 to $999 in rent or mortgage payments, 25 per cent paid between $1,000 and $1,499, while 13 per cent paid between $1,500 and $1,999 and two per cent paid over $2,000.
"And we are afraid that with the number of people's mortgages that will be coming due and the higher interest rates, we will be seeing a big jump in people who are housing insecure," Gariepy said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
