A better grasp on the number of men and women struggling with homelessness in Kelowna should be known next month, following a community-wide count.

The federal government is funding the count, which will be led by the Central Okanagan Foundation, in addition to counts in 29 other Canadian communities.

The aim is to create a national understanding of what the country is facing in terms of homelessness, as some communities have never undertaken the task.

Kelowna has done its own homeless counts in the past, with the last being completed three to four years ago. Other communities around the country have also taken on the task. The problem has been that the methodologies from area to area differ, and that undermines the results.

Randy Benson, executive director, of the Gospel Mission, said the study should yield useful information for those who make helping Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 street people their business.

害羞草研究所淚t gives us a baseline,害羞草研究所� Benson said, noting that the Gospel Mission will offer assistance with the count, but the Central Okanagan Foundation is really the lead.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of times we are asked if homelessness is increasing or decreasing, but we need a consistent starting point to see if numbers go up or down in the next couple years. It will give us a clearer picture of the community at large.害羞草研究所�

That picture, he said, will likely come as a surprise to many Kelowna residents.

害羞草研究所淭here is a lot of homelessness you don害羞草研究所檛 see. Our outreach workers know where the camps are, and where the homeless hang out. If you come down Leon Avenue or go to the Gospel Mission, you see people there, but the problem extends beyond those places.害羞草研究所�

Even what can be seen is being stressed

beyond normal. Usually at this time of year the number of people using their services begins to decrease. This year the number of beds filled reached 100, which is capacity, more than once.

On average there were 80 to 90 beds used a night.

Daytime food and support services are also seeing heightened demand.

Benson couldn害羞草研究所檛 say what害羞草研究所檚 causing increased pressure on services害羞草研究所擪elowna害羞草研究所檚 high cost of housing and low supply has been an issue for years. He did, however, note  there has been rising numbers of seniors and women who are using the mission害羞草研究所檚 services.

He害羞草研究所檚 hoping that the homeless count will help suss out some clearer explanations of what害羞草研究所檚 causing the rise.

If not, the count should certainly help the new City of Kelowna staffer who will be dedicated to dealing with homelessness.

Late last year the Kelowna city council made the decision to hire a social issues co-ordinator who will deal with homelessness. Their start date will be  in the late spring or early summer.

The need for the position became apparent in 2015, when city bylaw officers reported dealing with twice as many homeless camps than they had in the previous year.

害羞草研究所淭he city bringing in a staff person to look at the homeless issue should help us answer the question of why our services are in greater demand,害羞草研究所� Benson said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 the million dollar question.害羞草研究所�

Larger city representatives had expressed some frustration with the count being held during peak winter conditions, as the homeless population is oftentimes hidden at this time of year.

Benson acknowledged that the hidden homeless would be hard to count, but pointed out that there害羞草研究所檚 always a portion of the homeless community who won害羞草研究所檛 show up in counts due to couch surfing and the like.