Street Census – End Homelessness Winnipeg

Winnipeg Street Census. November 6 – 9, 2024

On Thursday, August 28, 2025, End Homelessness Winnipeg released the 2024 Winnipeg Street Census or Point-in-Time (PiT) Count report at the University of Winnipeg. About 100 attendees were present, including representatives from the three levels of government, Indigenous governments, media, people with lived homelessness experience, and shelter and housing providers.

The PiT Count provides an estimate of how many people in Winnipeg experience homelessness in a day, what their needs are, and how best to meet them. This was Winnipeg’s fifth PiT Count, with the previous counts conducted in 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2022.

The 2024 Winnipeg PiT Count utilized data from survey and administrative sources. End Homelessness Winnipeg recruited and trained hundreds of volunteers, along with housing and the houseless-serving sector staff to administer over 1600 surveys from November 6 to 9 and on November 12. The administrative data included occupancy data from shelters and short-term transitional housing programs, obtained from HIFIS and non-HIFIS agencies and programs. In addition, we obtained data from Shared Health on how many people stayed in Winnipeg hospitals without permanent housing.

To maximize the reach of the count, End Homelessness Winnipeg made three major changes to the methodology, extending the survey period from one day to five days, collaborating more with outreach teams, and partnering with three newcomer serving agencies: New Journey Housing, Welcome Place, and Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations to conduct two magnet events.

From the findings of the count, 2,469 people in Winnipeg experienced homelessness on the enumeration night: November 5, 2024. This is nearly double the 1,256 counted in 2022 and the highest number in the 10-year history of the Winnipeg Street Census. While this underscores the growing crisis and the urgent need for action, the increase also reflects the methodological improvements. For this reason, it is important not to make direct comparisons with previous PiT Count results.

The key findings of the 2024 Winnipeg PiT Count include:

More than half of the survey respondents (52.4%) were aged 30-49 years.

Indigenous peoples remain vastly over-represented in homelessness (79.9%).

Newcomers accounted for 12.9% of the survey respondents.

The major pathways into homelessness are child and family services, justice, and hospitals. Most people first experienced homelessness at age 18, when they aged out of care. In the year prior to the survey, 29.7 had been incarcerated and 48.5% had been hospitalized.

More than two-thirds (67.9%) had been without housing for six months or more in the year preceding the survey.

The five main factors that accounted for their most recent housing loss were:

low income (32.6%), eviction (16.9%), substance use (16.3%), conflict with spouse or partner (14.0%), and discrimination (10.8%).

The respondents identified the following supports as most needed to help them exit homelessness: affordable housing, financial support (rent subsidies, higher EIA rates, and lower housing cost), and mental health and substance use services.

The Winnipeg Street Census is funded by Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.

For more information, please contact pitcoordinator@endhomelessnesswinnipeg.ca

2024 Street Census Report

2022 Street Census Report and Recommendations

EHW_202211_Street Census Infographic_v4 Download

The 2022 Winnipeg Street Census took place on Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The Street Census is Winnipeg’s Point-in-Time Count. Point-in-Time Counts gather a one-day snapshot of homelessness in the city, contributing to a national picture. Every few years, communities across the country participate in similar Point-in-Time Counts. Information is gathered during a single, 24-hour period in two main ways:

A brief survey conducted face-to-face along walking routes and in designated locations by volunteers
Data provided by community organizations and government agencies

The Street Census is more than just a tally of the number of people observed experiencing homelessness on a single day. Street Census survey questions reflect national standards, as well as input from local Lived Experts, researchers, outreach workers, service providers and public service staff. Information gathered includes the number of people experiencing homelessness, where they stayed the night before the survey, and demographic data like age, gender, Indigeneity or newcomer status. No personally identifying information is collected.

Surveys are conducted by hundreds of trained volunteers, deployed in small teams. All volunteers are aged 18 or over and commit to 2.5 hours of training as well as 4 hours on the day of the Street Census. Training covers interviewing and survey recording, cultural safety, personal safety, ethical research, confidentiality and consent. All survey teams include both Lived Experts and service providers, wherever possible. Debriefing is available to all volunteers. In addition to the information gathered by these surveys, some data is provided by agencies and governments for people staying in institutional settings like hospitals or prisons who do not have a permanent address.

Any enumeration of people experiencing homelessness will only provide an estimate. Homelessness is a temporary situation, marked by a high level of mobility between different living situations and environments, for most people who experience it. People who have lost their housing are not a static group that can be found in a single location, neighbourhood or age bracket. Though Street Censuses cannot tell us for certain if homelessness is increasing or decreasing in Winnipeg, the information gathered can indicate trends in population demographics and sheltering choices. These trends can point to service needs, so that community organizations, funders and all levels of government can better work together to prevent and end homelessness.

The first Winnipeg Street Census took place in 2015. The second occurred in 2018. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Street Census was postponed. An Interim Point-in-Time Count was conducted in 2021 and a complete Street Census is planned for May 25, 2022.

The Street Census is funded by Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy

For more information, please contact streetcensus@endhomelessnesswinnipeg.ca