REGINA — New point-in-time (PIT) count numbers released by Namerind Housing Corp. on Tuesday show a decrease in people experiencing homelessness.
The 2025 PIT count recorded 767 homeless people, down from 824 in 2024. Although these numbers suggest a decrease, Namerind Housing Corp. president and CEO Robert Byers said the way they conducted the survey played a factor.
“This [was] more of just a snapshot of that particular time on that particular day. There's certain places that weren't included in the count that were a part of the 2024 point-in-time count.”
Those places included hospitals, motels, hotels and correctional facilities.
In their official submission to the Housing Infrastructure Communities Canada (HICC), Namerind reported 653 individuals, excluding over 100 people who had shelter for the night.
“So I think really the difference between last year and this year is around 5 per cent,” noted Byers.
The count took place in October between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. A total of 120 trained volunteers were deployed across the city. Byers noted Namerind Housing Corp. ensured there wasn’t any repeated individuals surveyed for the numbers.
Similar to the 2024 PIT count, a large majority of people surveyed were Indigenous (75 per cent in 2024 and 70 per cent in 2025).
Byers spoke about how residential schools, intergenerational trauma, and child welfare all factor into those numbers.
“Those all play a role in people trying to escape the pain, and sometimes it's through high rents or for whatever reason people sometimes end up on the streets.”
Other key numbers from the survey include 43 per cent of people experiencing chronic homelessness and 57 per cent experiencing episodic homelessness.
In addressing homelessness, Namerind Housing Corp. released a five-year plan in April 2025 to end the epidemic by 2030.
The plan outlined $111 million in cost split between supportive housing and programming ($58 million), community treatment & case management (27 million), and affordable housing and preventive measures ($26 million).
Nearly a year into the plan, Byers said it’s still very realistic.
“What the province is doing and what the feds are doing is good, but we just need more of it.”
“It's going to take all of us, it can't just be Namerind, it can't just be the provincial government or just be the feds, it's going to take all of us working together to solve homelessness.”
In 2025 alone, Byers said Namerind Housing Corp. managed to house over 400 people.
The company is also currently working on 48 new affordable units in downtown Regina.
Byers said the project is waiting for a green light from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Build Canada Homes before proceeding.
In 2026, Namerind Housing Corp. will be conducting a survey similar to 2025.
Byers mentioned that their next in-depth PIT count will occur in 2027.
