The latest Niagara Region survey shows over 660 people were experiencing homelessness in Niagara in March.
The results of the Point-in-Time Count have been released, showing at least 665 people reported being homeless on March 23rd compared to 625 people in 2018.
Of the 665 people, 121 were children under the age of 16 and 76 people were between 16 - 24 years old.
During the survey 47 people said they didn't know where they were going to spend the night, an increase of 20 from the 2018 results.
Officials say the increase may be due to people sleeping in unsheltered places to avoid emergency shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The top three reasons cited for a recent housing loss were financial hardship, conflict with a spouse or partner, and landlord and tenant conflicts.
The report also notes this year's Point-in-Time Count results may not be directly comparable to past years because of changes due to the pandemic.
Instead of using volunteers this year, the region relied on community agency staff and put enhanced COVID-19 safety measures in place.
Officials will be digging deeper into the data and compiling a final report for late fall.