Simcoe County to participate in Point-in-Time Homeless Count

In October 2024, Simcoe County will once again be participating in a nationally-coordinated Point-in-Time (PiT) Homeless Count.

This fourth annual count is required by Reaching Home, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada and is supported by community partners across the country.

The County has participated in PiT counts in previous years as part of this important project. The data from previous years can be found on this page.

Over the count period, trained surveyors will count and survey individuals who are staying in shelters, short-term emergency housing, and sleeping rough (without shelter). Our PiT Count will provide a “snapshot” of homelessness in Simcoe County. It will indicate the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in our community. Other forms of homelessness, such as people staying temporarily with friends or family, are not typically included in a PiT Count. 

This PiT Count will improve the region’s understanding of the needs and circumstances of the people who are affected by homelessness in our community. The survey will provide the County with key data on gender, age, ethnicity, veteran status, length of time experiencing homelessness, and more.

Results from the PiT Count will be made publicly available and will be used, in combination with the regional Coordinated Access system’s By-Name Data, to improve the County’s response to homelessness. In the future, successive counts will allow the County to measure progress towards its ultimate goal of ending homelessness in Simcoe County.

The Simcoe County PiT Count has received support from Reaching Home, Government of Canada’s Homelessness Strategy (Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada). In October & November 2024, individuals experiencing homelessness will be counted in 60+ communities across the country. The coordinated effort will help us to create a picture of homelessness in communities across Canada.