Over the pandemic, Abbotsford shelter 5 and 2 says that the unhoused community has grown and the demographic is shifting.

"The amount of South Asians impacted by homelessness has definitely increased over the years but not significantly," Ward Draper, executive director of 5 and 2, says. "It's been a slower thing."

Homelessness affects at least 235,000 people across Canada and that number is growing. Draper adds that despite the shelter's challenges meeting the unhoused community's needs, many Abbotsford residents have come together to help the non-profit.

"Over the years, our relationship with the larger body of Abbotsford has definitely improved which has made it easier to do some things to have better conversations," Draper says.

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