A total of 94 people were reported as experiencing homelessness in the Parksville and Qualicum Beach area in the latest point-in-time count. That’s down from the last count in 2023 in the region which recorded 103 people.
The majority of people included in the count were reported as being unsheltered.
The count included sheltered and unsheltered people. Sheltered homelessness can include people who were staying overnight at a shelter, hospital, holding cells or other forms of overnight shelter on the night of the count (April 29, 2025).
The count recorded 90 unsheltered people and four who were sheltered.
The count also asked people how long they have been in the community and found 84 per cent of the people had been in the area for one or more years, 61 per cent reported being in the community for five or more years and 16 per cent said they have always been in the area.
A report on the count notes Indigenous people are consistently overrepresented in the population of people experiencing homelessness as 25 per cent of respondents identified as Indigenous. It also notes Indigenous people make up four per cent of the census population.
Insufficient income was the leading cited cause of homelessness, at 48 per cent. Another 23 per cent blamed conflict with a spouse, and 18 per cent cited other conflicts
Most people who are experiencing homelessness are between the ages of 25 and 54; 32 per cent are seniors and two per cent are youths under 25.
Of the respondents, two per cent reported having a full or part-time job.
The data also includes substance use and health challenges, with 64 per cent of respondents having reported substance use and 67 reported mental health challenges.
Of the people who reported substance use, 38 per cent reported using opiates, 45 reported using stimulants, 35 reported using alcohol, 53 reported using cannabis and 67 per cent reported using nicotine.
The province released count data from 20 communities this year.
