Greater Vancouver homeless count shows intergenerational impact of residential schools, support workers say

The recent homeless count in Greater Vancouver shows the continued impact of residential schools on survivors and their families, advocates and support workers say.

"There isn't a single Indigenous person that isn't either a residential school survivor, the child of a residential school survivor or a grandchild of a residential school survivor," said Margaret Pfoh, CEO of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, .

"Residential schools were perhaps the most prominent and obvious acts of aggression from Canada against Indigenous peoples," she said.

According to the Oct. 5 report published by the Homelessness Services Association of B.C., 4,821 people said they were without a permanent residence in the Metro Vancouver area in 2023.