Lead, support, and coordinate research on the demographics of homelessness in St. John’s and municipalities of the Northeast Avalon.

First Light conducts research on demographics of correctional facilities

In November 2025, First Light conducted research on the demographics of adult correctional facilities in Newfoundland Labrador. The findings of this study were published in the report Overrepresented and Undercounted: A Snapshot of Indigenous Adult Incarceration in Newfoundland and Labrador, which received significant media and public attention. The research found that 43% of incarcerated individuals in the province were Indigenous, and among women inmates, the rate was even higher at 53%. If discharged that day, 34% of all respondents said they had nowhere safe to go, highlighting the need for coordinated discharge planning, and amplifying calls for implementation of a no-discharge-into-homelessness policy.

End Homelessness St. John’s Point-in-Time (PiT) Count finds Indigenous overrepresentation

In November 2024, End Homelessness St. John’s released Everyone Counts: St.John’s Homeless Point-in-Time Count 2024, which recorded 313 people without stable housing on enumeration night (November 28, 2024). That marked a 71% increase from the 2022 count. The report estimates a minimum of 1,400 unique individuals who experienced homelessness over the course of 2024. Indigenous people made up 14% of respondents, despite representing only 3-4% of the total population in St. John’s.

For End Homelessness St. John’s:

• Continue to collaborate with Indigenous organizations like First Light to improve the accuracy of demographic data on homelessness and to ensure its ongoing availability to policy-makers.