(Photo: File)
A pair of community groups is banding together to survey the homeless population in Hastings County.
The goal for the Community Development Council of Quinte and Bridge Street United Church is to get valuable statistics on the number of people in the region living in temporary housing, or sleeping without shelter.
Bridge Street United’s Steve Van de Hoef tells Quinte News they’ll be speaking to homeless members of the community in places that they usually receive social services, within Belleville, Quinte West, Centre Hastings and Bancroft.
Van de Hoef says the church has been serving meals to people for over 20 years, but this program is about figuring out why people get into those situations in the first place.
The CDCQ’s Executive Director Ruth Ingersoll says the data will be passed on to upper levels of government, as they continue to develop provincial and national homelessness strategies.
A community engagement survey will also go out to the general public when the program begins in April.
