Army and Downtown Mission) could be diverted from shelter and supported to address their long-term housing needs without shelter. The recommendations also assume that if housing- focused supports were increased where they are currently “light” (i.e. Downtown Mission), there would be a 15% reduction in the number of clients staying at that location at any given time. The recommended number of beds also assumes an 80% average occupancy to account for periods where demand is above average. The intent is that requests for services when at capacity will occur less than 10% of the time.

While the recommendations suggest a specific number of beds, there should be flexibility in the shelter system to accommodate surges in demand, whether they are due to a pandemic, more refugees, changes in the housing market, or other reasons.

• Adults

  • It is recommended that the City work towards a shelter service system with approximately 60 beds for single adult males and 30 beds for single adult females or 90 mixed (co-ed) beds for single adults.

• Families

  • Based on historical data for 2018 and 2019, it is recommended the City work towards approximately 20 beds for families. It should be noted, however, that when housing-focused supports have been increased for the families staying in motels, shelter demand for families has been well below the average of 20 beds. When exploring options for shelter services and number of beds required for families, the City should continue to monitor and take into consideration recent trends in the number of families accessing shelter.

• Youth

  • It is recommended that there be approximately 16 beds for youth ages 16-24. However, the basis for this number is not as strong as for the other population groups, since there is not currently a shelter that specifically serves youth. They often do not feel safe accessing the existing shelters, resulting in fewer youth showing in the existing numbers than would likely be seen if there were a youth shelter. Demand for youth beds could be even higher than 16, but prevention and early intervention should form a significant part of the homelessness services for youth, reducing overall demand for shelter beds for youth.

• Indigenous Peoples

  • During the consultations to inform the Housing and Homelessness Master Plan, some Indigenous stakeholders suggested that they would like to see shelter beds specifically targeted at Indigenous Peoples. However, Indigenous organizations consulted during the shelter review suggested that they would like to see existing shelters tailor their service delivery to better support the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples. This may include trying to make the shelter environment less