Alberta Provincial Estimations (Active)

When it comes to homelessness and understanding its causes, the urban experience tends to dominate the conversation, mainly due to the “visibility” of individuals experiencing homelessness in urban centres. The issue of homelessness in rural and remote areas is far less understood and acknowledged because of its “hidden” nature. Further, recent data suggests that rural homelessness is prevalent at rates equivalent to or greater than urban per capita rates (Schiff, et al., 2022). 

Recognizing this, RDN conducted the 2023 Alberta Provincial Housing and Service Needs Estimation with 22 organizations representing 45 rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Alberta in an attempt to better understand what homelessness looks like in each community and across the rural provincial landscape.  

This is the third iteration of the Alberta Provincial Housing and Service Needs Estimation. It was also conducted in 2018 and 2020 with 20 and 24 communities, respectively. 

This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. 

Communities have achieved remarkable results through enumerations. For instance, Peace River opened its first-ever emergency shelter based on needs identified in its estimation report. Drayton Valley secured funding for emergency shelter pods, while Whitecourt and the Soaring Eagle Support Society advocated for converting a closed motel into a shelter. These successes underscore the transformative impact of collecting and disseminating accurate data on housing insecurity. 

More broadly, data collected through the Alberta Provincial Housing and Service Needs Estimation projects have influenced municipal, provincial, federal, and funder policies, practices, and decision-making around housing and service needs.