In 2006, Niagara Region Community Services staff worked with 1,291 families experiencing different types of homelessness. Homelessness means one does not have a usual and safe place to call home and to return to at the end of the day. Such homelessness could involve sleeping on the street, in a shelter or on a couch in other people’s homes.
Table 17 Housing Incidences Addressed by Niagara Community and Social Services Staff, 2007
| Housing Incidences Addressed | # families reported |
| Families experiencing homelessness | 1291 |
| Families living in temporary accommodation | 687 |
| Families living on the street | 610 |
| Families facing imminent risk or risk of homelessness | 505 |
| Families relocating from the street to temporary accommodation | 167 |
| Families relocating from temporary to permanent housing | 77 |
Source: Survey conducted by Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
Figure 8 Total shelter Usage 2001-2003 (Niagara Region)
Shelter use has increased substantially since 2001. The total number of clients has increased by 144.4% since 2001 (from 1,278 to 3,123 in 2003). The largest increase was noted for females, increasing from 178 in 2001 to 572 in 2003, a 221.3% increase. Source: http://www.regional.niagara.on.ca/living/saeo/hostels-homeless.aspx and http://www.nrh.ca/images/Niagara%20Region%20Summary%20Document.pdf
The figure does not include data from independent hostels/shelters (i.e. Out of the Cold), Community Services contracts with agencies for shelter placement and hostels such as Matthew House, Casa El Notre and the YWCA in St. Catharines.
Rating: 2
