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If it seems like there are more people without permanent shelter in Kamloops, your suspicions are correct — there appears to be many more.

Just one local shelter says it took in 761 different people over the last year, blowing well beyond the previous homelessness survey two years ago.

"That is a really significant number," Out of the Cold executive director Renee Stein said, noting that their shelter runs on a first-come first-serve basis at the former Stuart Wood school.

She spoke to City council on Sept. 13, briefing officials on the amount of people coming through the shelter, which started in November, and about how Out of the Cold staff does serves its clients.

"We do have a vast amount of folks coming through Kamloops, either being discharged from (Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre), coming through on our cross-sections of highways, having housing instability and only needing brief stays."

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The last time the City surveyed the population in Kamloops was the BC Housing-funded Point in Time count in 2021, which counted 206 people living without permanent shelter.

City staff say there's been a "substantive" increase since the last count. It launched another Point in Time count in the spring, which surveys people who are homeless in one 24 hour period. 

Surveyors ask them several questions about their current challenges, how long they've been living on the streets and other life experience questions, but it's all voluntary. Surveyors also can't get to every person because they simply may not find them on that day, they may be couch-surfing and the survey itself is voluntary.

Point in Time counts are often considered under-counts relative to the actual population on the street.

Until that report is released in October, Stein's count is the most recent estimate of just how many people are homeless in the city, but there are some clear limitations with that number, too.

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Stein noted people may stay at the 25-bed Stuart Wood shelter only temporarily while they're between housing, for example, so it's difficult to measure. 

It's also possible some who typically stay at one of the other shelters, which has 150 more beds, they could also stay at the first-come first-serve Stuart Wood shelter. It's also not uncommon for people to avoid shelters and sleep outside instead.

Given the likely temporary nature of some of those visits Stein mentioned, the actual number is likely lower than the 761 Out of the Cold served so far, but it represents a growing need for people who don't have a permanent roof over their head in the River City.

Councillors praised Stein and Out of the Cold for running the shelter, which they took on at the last-minute in November. Out of the Cold only intended to operate the shelter part-time, splitting the work with Canadian Mental Health Association, but the other organization backed out.

Stuart Wood was also intended to be a winter shelter only, but it was later extended to run throughout the year. Whether it will continue to stay open beyond Oct. 31 still isn't clear, but City staff are working with BC Housing to open at least 240 beds for shelter during the coldest nights of the year.

— The headline in this story was changed at 3:25 p.m., Sept. 20, 2023, to more accurately reflect the story.

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