Counting those experiencing homelessness in the CBRM during a pandemic: A service-based count

Small and rural areas are often disproportionately under-represented in the distribution of funds or access to resources, making it extremely valuable to have robust, current data to reflect the needs of these communities in order to advocate for funding or supports. COVID-19 has demonstrated the fragility of our current systems by impacting our capacity to collect this type of data in the face of a pandemic, despite the overwhelming impression that this information on social and health indicators (such as number of people who are experiencing homelessness) is even more important at times like this. Developing ways to reduce the burden on community organizations, while streamlining the processes required for data collection, analysis, and reporting, is essential.

This project supports the important effort to enumerate homelessness (as a health and social indicator) in the CBRM, where homelessness is often hidden. This project supports a service-based count of homelessness in the CBRM which will provide essential data on the current impact of COVID-19 on the local burden of homelessness. It will include the important objective to develop a plan for more sustainable data collection and reporting that is community-centered, community-accessible, and community-relevant.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lilla Roy

Student:

Partner:

Cape Breton Community Housing Association

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Other services (except public administration)

University:

Cape Breton University

Program: