The City of Red Deer has released its homeless count suggesting that numbers are down but some organizations say that's not accurate.  

The Point in Time count is done every two years with the latest suggesting that homelessness has decreased by 46 per cent since 2012 and down from 137 in 2014, to 131 in 2016.  

Tricia Haggarty- Roberts, Director of Operations with Safe Harbour Society, said the numbers released only show a snap shot in time.

“When you camp in tents and tarps and you’re in parks, we call that rough sleeping, or absolute homelessness. If you are so tucked away that you can’t be found to be counted, then what’s the validity? We are not the only organization in Red Deer saying this and we’re certainly not the only front line agency in the province saying this.”

Haggarty added the numbers also don't count couch surfers, which is something that was decided at a provincial level.

What they are seeing Haggarty said is although people can stay upwards of a month, most people are in and out in two weeks.

“That’s success and I’d like to focus on that. We are serving more people throughout a year, but they’re moving on in the system and not getting stuck. That tells me we’re doing well.”

Approximately 300 community volunteers and 15 organizations participated in Red Deer 2016 PIT count.