More than 100 volunteers fanned out across Saskatoon last night to count homeless people.

They were also asking them how they came to be without shelter, according to project manager Janice Braden.

She suggested several possibilities, including people coming to the city to find work but then discovering they were unable to afford rent.

"People are attracted to come here, they're trying to get a job but then they get here and find the income they can make just isn't enough to pay our high rents," Braden said.

However, there are a variety of different reasons why people end up on the streets, she said.

"Sometimes they're people who are veterans of the Canadian military; we hear that a lot of the people are people who are going to have untreated mental health issues."

People working on the survey canvassed 17 shelters and drop-in centres, plus public spaces like parks, the riverbank and along the railway tracks