It's a segment of the community that is on the rise and, in some cases, that is often being referred to Hamilton or Toronto, according to the local United Way.

A Post investigation has found that riding on the rising cost of living and sluggish economy, local organizations like Partnership West Food Bank and Halton's sole homeless shelter, The Halton Lighthouse Shelter are witnessing increasing numbers.

"What we hear is that sometimes people who don't have a permanent place to live and are looking for assistance, they are sent to Hamilton, because Hamilton does have shelters," said Monica Quinlan, director of community investments and agency relations at the United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton. "Many (homeless) Burlingtonians, whether they are youths or adults, end up in Hamilton."

With a population of 505,000, there are 10 emergency shelters in Hamilton with an estimated 509 available beds. With a population of 440,000, there is one emergency shelter in Halton with a total vacancy of 25 beds; 15 for males and 10 for females.

The Oakville-based Halton Lighthouse Shelter has been operating at 90 per cent occupancy recently. In 2006, the shelter supported 413 people, which was an 8.5 per cent increase from 2005. Within the last few months, however, the shelter has been seeing a great boost in users.

"We've seen an increase, definitely, since April," said Rachel Sawatzsky, director of the shelter, who attributes the increase of users to the slowing economy. "We are just about full every night now."

If the shelter is unable to accommodate an individual, they are directly referred to another shelter in the area, be it Hamilton or Mississauga.

Adelina Urbanski, commissioner of social and community services for Halton Region, has been watching the rise of homelessness in Halton. Most notably, she has witnessed a peak in family homelessness.

"I'll add to the chorus that the numbers are increasing and they have been even before the economy was slowing down," she said. "What's been particularly disturbing or upsetting is that the numbers of homeless families have really been increasing."

The region has had more than 1,000 homeless assistance requests since January. In 2007, 1,355 requests were made.

Urbanski believes the numbers are under representations because "people may not necessarily call us, even if they are homeless."

An Ipsos-Reid Survey in 2005 found there is an "extremely low awareness" on issues regarding affordable housing in Halton and that 23 per cent of the population faces problems or know someone facing problems finding the type of housing they require in Halton.

Many are oblivious to the fact homelessness does exist in the affluent region of Halton, according to Sawatzsky.

"There are still a lot of people who don't know there are homeless people in Halton region," she stresses. "I think it's a concern the whole community needs to be aware of and get involved in," she added.

Urbanski believes that since homelessness in Halton isn't as saturated and visually apparent as it is in Hamilton or Toronto, it is assumed to not exist.

In a report on the best practices for homeless youth, entitled More Than A Roof, which was published in January 2007, the authors found that "There is much work to be done and The Salvation Army (Lighthouse Shelter) believes that they are just scratching the surface of existing need."

The report also concluded that, "North Halton remains seriously under-served with minimal resources available to homeless families in the north. As a matter of fact, three families have been displaced from the north as a result."

This is something that Urbanski finds troubling. She knows of the definite under-funding, but notes that some changes have been implemented in the region's services, especially with transitional housing -- but it still isn't enough.

"The dilemma is that we do not have enough services (for the homeless) in this region. There is absolutely no question about it," said Urbanski. "Everyone is being stretched. I guess that's the problem."

According to Halton's Comprehensive Housing Strategy, the lack of affordable housing and supply of low-rent units is making it too expensive for low-income people to live in Halton, which is increasing the risk of homelessness.

In December 2007, Halton regional council allocated $3.02 million in funding for seven community initiatives to address homelessness and eviction prevention. The funds are being implemented but, according to local organizations, it is not enough with the mounting number of homeless and those at-risk of becoming homeless.

Paul Tammeorg, administrator of Burlington's Partnership West Food Bank, has heard of individuals who find themselves homeless in Burlington and are relocated to such places like Hamilton because there are more "social nets" there.

"We don't want people actually having to push to move to other communities where there are more social services like Hamilton or Toronto where poverty is more shown," said Tammeorg. "Hamilton has more social nets down there for homeless than we do (in Burlington)."

"We (the food bank) are one of the last things before a person ends up on the street," said Tammeorg, who noted that lately the food bank has been seeing record numbers of new clients.

There is also a great increase in the number of people at-risk of homelessness in the region, according to Paul Johnson, executive director of Wesley Urban Ministries, one of Hamilton's largest emergency shelters.

"What we are seeing now is for low-income families, the pressure on their budget is becoming increasingly tight and so I hope we are not on the verge of having more people become homeless because of that," he said. "We are finding increasing amounts of people accessing food banks, increasing amounts of people needing emergency homes for utilities and renters and that's an indication that people are in pretty difficult circumstances."

Last year, Burlington-based Transitions for Youth worked with 128 homeless youth in Halton (65 in Burlington) and supported 170 youths at-risk of homelessness in Halton (74 in Burlington).

"They're homeless for many reasons and it's not a simple reason," said Ellis Katsof, executive director of Transitions for Youth. Although the goal is to get the youth support services in Halton, they do refer them to Hamilton, notably Notre Dame House for youth 16-21 years of age. Transitions for Youth tries to refer some homeless youths to the Lighthouse Shelter, which has "some beds for young people, but it's really for adults," noted Katsof.

The More Than A Roof report further noted that Halton youth, "Clearly indicated that having options that allow youths to stay in their own community is desirable, but that there are currently few programs that allow for this."

To battle youth homelessness, Transitions for Youth has set up Bridging the Gap program, which aims at assisting homeless or at-risk youths between the ages of 16-24. The Transitional Housing Project has also been implemented to help homeless youth gain life skills by living together with others in a house.

"These are individuals that just don't have the skills to do that on their own. That's one of the reasons why they are homeless," said Katsof.

Links2Care, another Halton-based multi-service organization, offers transitional housing for families that would otherwise be homeless. Annually, the Transitional Housing program provides temporary accommodation for at least six adults and 12 children.

Female victims of domestic violence and their children are referred to Halton Women's Place in Burlington, which has 30 available beds at its shelter.

While he doesn't have specific statistics, Johnson says he has had Burlington residents frequent Hamilton's Wesley Centre. He believes that communities need to face the realities of homelessness.

"Homelessness is not something simply to be shuffled around," he said. "We don't want it to be shuffled from street to street and we don't want it to be shuffled from city to city. Communities need to address the situation."

Urbanski maintains that although Halton Region is generally well-off, more attention and resources need to be made available to a growing population that isn't as fortunate.

"While this community may be one of the better ones and luckier ones... we certainly can't pretend that it (homelessness) doesn't exist, because it does," she said.

If you find yourself or family in need of assistance, call Halton Region at 905-825-6000 to arrange emergency housing and services.