More than half of the province's homeless population is in Montreal

A recent head count of the homeless population in the province found more than half of the homeless population is in Montreal. 

The head count was conducted last April and data collected found a total of 5,789 homeless people in the province. In Montreal there were 3,149 homeless people counted — up from 3,016 in 2015.

The idea is to help the province and cities better understand the demographics so social programs can be better tailored. Indigenous people were overrepresented while women were underrepresented. Men continue to out number women, while those in the LBTGQ catergory are also over represented.

Officals say there have been many programs implemented since the first headcount in 2015 but it's not enough. Eric Latimer, a researcher at Verdun's Douglas Hospital says long-term relationships need to be established. "You can't just put someone in a house and expect them to miraculously be okay." said Latimer. "We need to follow these people after the fact."

The data collection was organized by ICountMTL while hundreds of volunteers helped.