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Nelson’s homelessness rate second highest in B.C interior: report

A set of keys left in a lock on an outside door in focus, with a green garden in the background
The Nelson Committee on Homelessness released its 14th annual report this week. Stock photo/Pixabay.com
John Rune - CJLY - Kootenay • BC | 14-10-2022
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Nelson has the second-largest rate of homelessness in the B.C interior, a new report by a local non-profit suggests.

The Nelson Committee on Homelessness said that only Quesnel has a higher rate of homelessness, counted per 1,000 residents, based on available data. A point-in-time count conducted on Feb 1. showed 88 people, or 8 per 1,000, were either in shelters or known to be sleeping rough in Nelson.

The Report Card on Homelessness, released this week for the 14th consecutive year, said the number is likely an undercount, but that shelters still remain at capacity, with 219 individuals having been turned away last year.

'Not a happy night to be outside,' advocate Caldwell says of Feb. 1 count - listen to the CJLY report by John Rune below:

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