Recently published on the Vancouver Sun website, written by Deb Lester, CEO of Covenant House Vancouver
The recently released 2025 Greater Vancouver Homeless Count report shows that homelessness continues to rise across the region. The findings point to the desperate need for a coordinated, systematic response between all levels of government in partnership with frontline service providers, community and those with lived experience to meet the growing need to connect people to housing and other supports. This response must also consider the unique needs of young people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
The number of people experiencing homelessness in our region has more than doubled since the first count in 2005. Over a single night and day in March this year, 5,232 people were experiencing homelessness, up from 2,174 in 2005. That represents a 141% increase. In comparison, the report notes that the most recent census data showed total population from 2005 to 2024 increased by 44%.
Greater Vancouver is not unique. Across the country, people have become distressingly vulnerable to experiencing homelessness. Last month, the City of Toronto released its own survey that found the number of homeless people in the city has more than doubled between the spring of 2021 and last fall, from about 7,300 to 15,400 people.
Nor is this only a big city issue. The rise in homelessness has led to encampments becoming increasingly commonplace in even the smallest communities in Canada, as people congregate to seek community and safety as their circumstances become more despairing. A night on the street, particularly when spent alone, makes a person vulnerable to illness, violence, and death. A communal setting offers folks a small degree of security.
That vulnerability is especially true for young people. The Greater Vancouver homeless count report found that youth under the age of 25 accounted for six per cent of the total homeless population counted (172 in total). Alarmingly, of those, half were unsheltered, which is the highest percentage of unsheltered amongst any age group, meaning that there are not nearly enough services centred on meeting their specific and unique needs. Services that are designed for adults are neither adequate nor safe for a young person. As a result, they have few places to turn to for help.
At Covenant House Vancouver, we see that demand nightly. Young people who seek our services receive access to a full continuum of care rooted in the social determinants of health including housing, mental health and substance use care, life skills building, and more. Some young people have told us that they expect to stay for a night or two and often end up staying months to years as they work to heal and re-envision their dreams. Our program outcomes support that this approach works. The solution is not as simple as a house and siloed programs: it’s an investment in a one-size-fits-one approach.
For those who cannot access youth-oriented services, the consequences can be dire. By not adequately supporting young people during their time of greatest need, they are set on a path to ongoing isolation and social marginalization. The same City of Toronto survey found 52% of those in correctional facilities had experienced homelessness in their lives first did so when they were under the age of 24. For those in health and treatment facilities, that number was 34%.
Experiencing street homelessness is a grinding, often hopeless state of existence. For anyone, but especially for a young person, hope can start with a home. What’s important to remember is that housing first doesn’t mean housing only and it’s through housing and needed support where lasting change happens. Let’s make that hope possible.
This will require investment from all levels of government, along with commitments to support those frontline services that right now are straining to meet the increasing demand. An investment in our young people is an investment in our community, our future.
It will also require addressing longstanding policy failures that have led to inequality, poverty, and housing unaffordability.
The homeless count report should set off blaring alarms to everyone. The time to respond is now. We need systematic collaboration that ensures efforts are evidence-based, coordinated, sustainable, and person-centered.