Keeping better track of Durham’s homeless

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

Durham Region is looking to better track its homeless and has started by keeping a list.

So far the By-Name List has 250 homeless residents and their names. Of those, 175 are adults averaging 33.5 years of age, 57 youths averaging 19 years, and 18 seniors at 65 years old.

According to Erin Valant, the program manager of affordable housing and homelessness initiatives, housing services in Durham, there are also 28 people experiencing chronic homelessness in Durham right now.

She points out there used to be more than 60, but 40 have been able to find housing with some assistance.

The region is gathering this information as part of Built for Zero, an organization aiming to end homelessness in Canada.

Durham’s first step in the program was to begin compiling the By-Name List, and will now begin tracking the gathered data for the next three months.

Oshawa’s Ward 3 City and Regional Councillor Bob Chapman pointed out not everyone without a home is visibly homeless.

“Not everybody that is considered homeless is unsheltered,” he says, adding some people have accommodations, but “bounce couch to couch.”

Chapman also notes the individuals referenced by Valant are only the ones who gave the region their names.

“There are still people out there who haven’t done that who are homeless and unsheltered,” he says.

In total, Valant says there are seven community access points where the homeless can receive help across the region, with two located in Oshawa. They are Mission United, located at the Back Door Mission in downtown Oshawa, and Cornerstone Community Association, also downtown.

Valant says he is working to compile statistical data on the homeless and will have more information in October.