Point-In-Time Count on Homelessness – October 22, 2025
Medicine Hat Community Housing Society is again preparing to capture the current experience of homelessness in our community through its Point-In-Time (PiT) Count. This year’s Count is set for Wednesday, October 22.
The PiT Homeless Street Count and Survey is an annual initiative that provides an important snapshot of homelessness in our community by identifying individuals who are sleeping rough, accessing emergency shelters, in systems, and those in transitional housing during a 24-hour period. The information gathered helps us better understand the experiences and needs of people facing homelessness in Medicine Hat. By capturing this data, we can inform more effective programs, services, and strategies to support those most vulnerable.
Volunteers are an integral part of the PiT Count. Volunteers will be given specific routes throughout the city where homeless persons congregate and access services. Volunteers will talk with each individual they encounter and invite them to participate in a short survey.
To register as a volunteer, please contact Kerri Sandford at ksandford@mhchs.ca
Every person counts and every story matters.
Overview
The Point-in-Time (PiT) Count uses a consistent methodology and standardized survey questions to track local, provincial, and national trends in homelessness. Combined with other data, PiT Count findings help deepen our understanding of the state of homelessness locally and across the country. This data supports effective planning, program development, and service delivery to prevent and end homelessness and improve the coordinated system of care that serves vulnerable community members.
Multiple data sources contribute to the PiT Count, including:
- Enumeration/Street Count
- A Voluntary Survey
- Administrative/Systems Data (shelters, transitional housing, Justice and Health)
In the fall of 2024 and in the spring of 2025, 74 communities across the country participated in Everyone Counts, the nationally coordinated Point-In-Time (PiT) Count of homelessness. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) prepared and released the Everyone Counts 2024 – Highlights Report Part 1 – Enumeration of Homelessness. The report shows that nearly 60,000 people across the country were identified as experiencing homelessness.
To read the full Report, visit: https://housing-infrastructure.canada.ca/…/pit-counts…
Medicine Hat 2024 Point-In-Time Count Snapshot:
- 104 community members were experiencing homelessness on October 10, 2024
- 35 were experiencing unsheltered homelessness
- 42 were sheltered (emergency shelters, transitional housing)
- 27 were counted in Systems (Health & Justice)
Medicine Hat 2022 Point-In-Time Count Snapshot:
- 120 community members were experiencing homelessness on September 26, 2022
- 31 were experiencing unsheltered homelessness
- 80 were sheltered (emergency shelters, transitional housing)
- 9 were counted in Systems (Health & Justice)