By Lisa Iesse Writer Indigenous persons face increasing risks of homelessness but have few alternatives to a failing shelter system, say advocates. A recent count (conducted in April 2023) found that at least 52 percent of people experiencing homelessness in the city of Brantford are Indigenous. An increase from 2021 and 2018 counts where 35 percent of homeless persons in Brantford identified as Indigenous. “Our homeless numbers and encampment of urban indigenous and rural Indigenous has skyrocketed,” says Alma Arguello, executive director at Brantford Native Housing (BNH). Considering about 5 percent of Brantford’s population identify as Indigenous (Statistics Canada), the findings warn Indigenous persons disproportionately face homelessness at a growing rate. Brantford is next to the most populated First Nation in the country (Six Nations) and another populous First Nation,…
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