Lacombe and District FCSS is asking those in rural areas who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, to participate in a count this fall.

The count is part of a larger province-wide project called the Alberta Homeless Estimation Project, which will see 21 communities participate.

Connie Malena, is the project lead from Lacombe and District FCSS and believes it will be one of the largest rural counts ever.

“The reason that we’re doing it, is to get some data as to what the issue is, so we can respond to it and come up with some solutions,” Malena said.

The survey area will include Lacombe, Clive and surrounding rural areas.

Twelve service agencies will be requesting participants to complete a survey. They’re searching for those who are unsheltered, emergency sheltered, provisionally accommodated (e.g. couch surfers) and those at risk of homelessness.

“There’s currently resources that we do have. It may mean building upon those resources, it may mean creating new resources. It really depends on what the numbers show us. The more information we get, the better equipped we will be to respond to the problem,” Malena said.

Surveys will be available from Oct. 15 to Nov. 14. Participant information is confidential and non-identifying.

The partnering community agencies include:

Bethany Group/Lacombe Foundation

Central Alberta Refugee Effort

Central Alberta Youth Unlimited

Clive/Tees Neighbourhood Place and FCSS

Lacombe Community Food Bank

Lacombe Employment Centre

Lacombe FCSS

Lacombe Mental Health Services

Lacombe Outreach School

Lacombe Victim Services

Mary C. Moore Public Library

Wolf Creek Primary Care Network