Organizers of Sacramento County’s next Point-In-Time Count say they need at least 500 volunteers to help survey the region’s homeless population in January.
Those who participate are trained to collect demographic information about people experiencing homelessness as they canvass city streets, shelters, parks and riverbanks. The survey results are used to determine state and federal funding for homeless services.
“We need to have enough volunteers that can help us go out into every part of our community and assess how many people are experiencing homelessness,” said Lisa Bates, CEO with the nonprofit Sacramento Steps Forward, which runs the count locally.
Bates said the survey will take place in all cities in the county and all unincorporated communities.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities across the country to conduct the count every year or every other year. It is usually done biennially in Sacramento County.
Volunteers must be 18 or older and willing to travel by foot or car. They must also use their personal smartphone and flashlight, organizers said.
Bates said the survey does more than just collect information. It also builds bonds between the volunteers and the people they survey.
“What we hear from volunteers that come back is just the really rich experience that they had being able to connect with people and have that human to human conversation,” she added.
The county’s most recent Point-In-Time Count took place in February 2022.
The results, issued in a report later that year, were stark: The county’s homeless population spiked 67% to nearly 9,300 people compared with the previous survey conducted in 2019.
The next count will take place Jan. 24 and 25. All volunteers will be required to complete either an in-person or remote training. More information about the upcoming count is available on the Sacramento Steps Forward website.
Contact CapRadio news reporter Chris Nichols at [email protected]
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