A new study for the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness led by a Simon Fraser University master’s student has found that a disproportionate number of people chronically staying in Victoria’s emergency shelters are seniors.

Hannah Rabinovitch conducted the longitudinal study on emergency shelter use patterns in Victoria under the MITACS Accelerate Program, in partnership with the Centre for Addictions Research at the University of Victoria. The SFU public policy master’s student examined data collected between April 2010 and May 2014.

The study tracked 4,332 individuals and examined nearly 46,000 shelter records. More than 85 per cent of users accessed shelters for short periods, meaning only once or twice—findings that point to the need for affordable housing and preventative measures, according to the study.

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