Volunteers interviewed members of Winnipeg’s homeless population Sunday night as part of the city’s first street census.
The 24 hour survey is coordinated by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.
It aims to find the numbers and demographics of Winnipeg’s homeless population.
"Right now we don't have a reliable estimate of how many are experiencing homelessness on any given day,” said Christina Maes Nino with the Social Planning Council.
“We know how many people are staying at shelters, but we don't know how many people are staying outside, how many people are staying at other locations."
Volunteers began at traditional shelters like the Main Street Project, Salvation Army and Siloam Mission.
They gathered information about age, gender, background and how long a person experienced homelessness.
Census organizers are also looking for people who do not use shelters.
“So we’re going to a variety of community organizations, women’s resource centres, churches, breakfast programs, all of the places where we know people who are homeless are accessing services,” said Maes Nino.
Maes Nino said the information will help identify gaps in services and shape future programming.
