Homelessness increasing in rural Alberta

New research suggests an increasing number of people outside of Edmonton and Calgary are homeless. The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research commissioned the project, which looked at 20 rural communities in Alberta and another 20 rural communities across the country. Overall, Drs. Jeanette Waegemakers-Schiff and Alina Turner found homelessness persists in those communities. “There’s quite a prevalence of homelessness and particularly hidden homelessness, which is communities that have populations that are at particular risk and in housing instability versus rough sleepers, those people you would see on the street,” said Turner, in a news release. “So that’s a major difference between communities in rural Alberta and Calgary and Edmonton is that you have a population that remains hidden.” Some communities reported between five and 10 homeless people per year while others reported as many as 20 or 30. The boom and bust cycle, which is prevalent in a resource-based economy, also plays a role in local rural homelessness, which sees rents raised and lower income earners forced out.