Homelessness is often treated as a distant problem — something unfortunate, uncomfortable, and easy to categorize as “someone else’s issue.” In Prince George, however, it is anything but distant. It is visible, ongoing, and deeply woven into daily life. Through the mid-2020s, homelessness has continued to grow and shift, remaining one of the most pressing social issues facing the city.
Recent counts conducted in the latter half of the decade identified over 200 people experiencing homelessness in Prince George, representing a steady increase compared to earlier counts. More than half of those identified were under the age of 45, challenging the assumption that homelessness primarily affects older populations. Instead, it highlights a growing reality: housing instability is increasingly affecting working-age adults navigating unemployment, mental health challenges, rising living costs, and limited access to support.
What is often missing from the conversation is not awareness of homelessness, but an understanding of its role within the broader system. Homelessness is not simply the absence of housing. It is a visible signal of strain across multiple systems, including healthcare, mental health services, housing availability, employment stability, and social support networks. When these systems fail to work together, homelessness becomes not the cause, but the outcome.
In Prince George, this issue is especially urgent. The northern climate turns housing instability into a life-threatening condition during colder months, increasing risks related to exposure, untreated illness, and emergency medical crises. Compared to larger urban centres, Prince George has fewer resources and limited capacity, making service gaps more visible and harder to compensate for when demand increases.
The effects of homelessness ripple through the entire community. Emergency rooms increasingly serve as primary access points for healthcare. Police and first responders are frequently tasked with responding to situations rooted in poverty, mental illness, or addiction rather than criminal behaviour. Shelters, outreach programs, and supportive housing initiatives operate near or beyond capacity, while long-term housing solutions struggle to keep pace with need.
Beyond infrastructure, the social impact is equally significant. Communities experience compassion fatigue as visible homelessness becomes normalized. Frustration grows, and people experiencing homelessness are increasingly viewed through the lens of nuisance or risk rather than as individuals shaped by circumstance. As stigma deepens, meaningful engagement and long-term solutions become harder to achieve.
Homelessness cannot be discussed without acknowledging its close relationship with addiction. The two issues reinforce one another. Homelessness can push individuals toward substance use as a means of coping with trauma, instability, and survival. At the same time, addiction can contribute to homelessness through job loss, stigma, and barriers to treatment. Addressing these issues separately weakens responses to both; coordinated, compassionate approaches are essential.
A Call for Awareness and Responsibility
This is not the moment for blame. Blame has not solved homelessness, addiction, or the systems connected to them — and it never will. Blaming individuals ignores the realities of housing shortages, mental health gaps, economic pressure, and fragmented support services. Blaming “the system” without reflection allows disengagement rather than responsibility.
What is needed now is awareness and shared responsibility.
Homelessness affects everyone, whether we acknowledge it or not. It impacts public health, emergency services, local businesses, and the overall well-being of the community. When people are left without stable housing, the consequences ripple outward — and over time, no one remains untouched.
Taking responsibility does not mean assigning guilt. It means recognizing homelessness as a collective issue rather than a personal failure. It means listening to lived experience, questioning assumptions, and supporting solutions that prioritize dignity, prevention, and long-term stability.
So the question becomes: what can we do?
We can start by paying attention instead of looking away. By supporting local organizations, advocating for housing-first and harm-reduction approaches, and encouraging policies that treat homelessness as a systemic issue rather than a moral one. Most importantly, we must remember that how a city treats its most vulnerable residents reflects the health of the city as a whole.
This is not about fixing everything overnight. It is about choosing responsibility over blame — because homelessness is not an issue that belongs to “them.” It belongs to all of us.
