1994 Count of Homeless Persons in Calgary

The City of Calgary's Social Services department coordinated a survey of various shelter and non-shelter service providers located mainly in the downtown core to determine the number of homeless persons who may have used such services on the night of 1994 May 19. Social service shelters, women's shelters, hospitals, police services, emergency services (e.g., Alberta Family and Social Services), outreach and community services (of the City of Calgary's Social Services) participated in the count. Representatives were asked to record the number of persons with whom they came into contact that night who either slept in that facility overnight or who were seen sleeping "on the street". To the extent possible, participants were asked to note the individual's gender, age and race as well as the number of homeless family units served that night. The term "family" was defined to be a "couple", "couple with children", or "an adult with children". A total of 461 homeless persons were counted. No homeless persons were counted at the hospitals located outside the downtown core. The majority (59.9%) of the individuals counted were between the ages of 25-44, with the overall percentage of males (74.8%) far exceeding the percentage of females (16.3%). Children represented 5.9% of the individuals counted, while seniors comprised 2.4%. Other demographic findings were noted in the report. Overall, the number of homeless counted increased from the 447 people counted in 1992.

Summary Credit:
Homelessness-Related Research Capacities in Alberta: A Comprehensive Environmental Scan, prepared by Dr. Katharina Kovacs Burns, MSc, MHSA, PhD and Dr. Solina Richter, PhD, RN for The Alberta Homelessness Research Consortium (2010)

Publication Date: 
1994
Location: 
Calgary, AB, Canada