Count of homeless in Clark County to be revised
Due to COVID-19, Point in Time will tally those who are sheltered
Published: January 13, 2021, 3:55pm
Share: Katelyn Benhoff, lead outreach case manager with Share, left, speaks with Dimitri Coles in front of Share House while performing the annual Point in Time Count on Jan. 24, 2019. (The Columbian files)
The Point in Time count of the area’s homeless population will be different in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council for the Homeless is having to cancel its 2021 Project Homeless Connect and the unsheltered component of the Point in Time count.
“Both events place people in direct contact with one another and the risk of COVID-19 infection for our neighbors who are homeless is too high,” the Vancouver nonprofit outlined in a news release Thursday.
Every January, volunteers with homeless organizations across the nation take part in a Point-in-Time (PIT) count to understand how many homeless people are in shelters and encampments in communities.
Teams will fan out across Marion County on Jan. 27 to count unsheltered homeless people living outdoors alone and in homeless camps as part of the annual federally required Point In Time (PIT) count.
The count will be combined with the number of people living in emergency and transitional housing on the count day, and that grand total will become the basis for distribution of federal funds to a group of local help agencies known as the Continuum of Care.
Ashley Dobbs, marketing and communications manager of the City of Ocala Office of Strategic Engagement, stated in an email that due to the pandemic, the count will be abbreviated and counters will wear masks and be provided with sanitizer and wipes. Specific details of the count plan are pending approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Report finds a ‘tidal wave’ of homelessness
Fire Chief Dan Goonan and Fire/EMS Officer Chris Hickey do rounds at an encampment for the homeless under the Amoskeag Bridge in Manchester on May 15. CAROL ROBIDOUX / Manchester Ink Link
Modified: 1/6/2021 9:26:51 PM
The number of homeless people was already growing fast before the pandemic, and now the problem has grown larger than we know, experts say. In Manchester alone, the count of unsheltered homeless has more than doubled from July 1, with about 170, to over 480 as of Nov. 30.
Last month, the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness (NHCEH) released its annual report on the state of homelessness. In addition to the point-in-time headcount they perform at the start of the year, the organization included data from a national database for the first time, which provides more detailed information about the individuals who don’t have a home, including demographic data that shows Black and Hispanic people represent a dispropo
Homeless grateful for the kindness of others
Ann Nickerson and Bryan of Norwich at St. Vincent de Paul Place in Norwich. Nickerson was homeless for 7 years and is now living in an apartment. She volunteers full time at the soup kitchen. Bryan was homeless from May until December 11 when a couple offered him a couch to sleep on in one of their properties. At the moment, all the rooms in this house are rented to formerly homeless people, or those in transition. (photo submitted)
Ann Nickerson of Norwich and St. Vincent de Paul Place Executive Director Jill Corbin of Uncasville move a rack of warm clothing inside at the end of the day. (photo submitted)