Surrey Homelessness

It is now believed that there are almost 2000 homeless people in the City of Surrey.

The face of homelessness is changing. In the past, the majority of the homeless were men who were dealing with addiction and mental health issues. That is no longer the case. The face of homelessness and of those at risk of homelessness is often youth, particularly aboriginal youth, single parents and women, as well as men.

The problem of homelessness is complex; people who are homeless are often facing a number of barriers including mental illness, addiction, low employability skills or violence in the home.

Often people are simply unable to gain the support needed to get adequate and safe housing.

Affordability is also an issue; like many major cities across Canada, home ownership in Surrey has become increasingly out of reach for lower and middle-income citizens

The 2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count reports homelessness in Surrey has increased 135 percent from 2002-2008. (2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count)