Saskatoon is scrapping the street-survey portion of its October 6 homeless count, citing concerns that aggressive protesters could put community volunteers at risk.

The decision follows a September 24 confrontation at an encampment near Avenue K and 20th Street, where protesters blocked fire inspectors, police and contractors from dismantling the site.

According to 650 CKOM, city planning and development director Lesley Anderson said the safety concerns stemmed from protesters and advocates, rather than homeless residents.

“The situation that we’ve seen is not around our volunteers engaging with people that are unhoused out in our community,” Anderson said. “It has been the concern around the aggressive protests and advocates that we’ve seen out there, and the situation caused by that.”

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Volunteers had been scheduled to spend 12 hours surveying homeless counts. Anderson said previous counts had gone well, with homeless people generously sharing their time and experiences.

But the city decided it could not send volunteers into a potentially volatile environment.

Postponing the count would mean asking approximately 250 volunteers to rearrange their schedules. Delaying until November could also affect comparisons, as people entering reopened warming centres would be classified as sheltered.

The city will instead estimate unsheltered homelessness using other information, including the Saskatoon Fire Department’s knowledge of encampment populations. It will also collect figures from shelters, transitional housing, correctional facilities and hospitals.

The loss of direct street surveys has implications for organizations helping homeless residents.

Bridge City Warmth founder and president Melissa Zimmer told CKOM that the count helps her organization plan housing support and attract donations. Sharing last year’s figures prompted an influx of contributions, she said.