The number of people living outside a home setting will be tallied
Volunteers within a 5-county region will be tallying the number of homeless from sunset January 22nd to sunrise January 23rd.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that communities receiving Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grant funding to complete an annual sheltered and biennial unsheltered Point-In-Time Count during the last ten days of January. The data collected during this count assists our CoC locally and across the state to plan future services geared towards ending homelessness, understand changes in trends among homeless populations, comply with reporting requirements from HUD, other funders, and local stakeholders, and justify the need for continued resources to aide the homeless.
A statewide count of homeless men, women, and children living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, on the streets, and other places not meant for human habitation is being coordinated by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and the Region 16 Continuum of Care locally. The count will be conducted from sunset January 22 to sunrise January 23. This is the first year data will be collected within the state defined region of Clinton, Fayette, Highland, Ross and Pickaway counties.
"The information collected during this count directly impacts our ability to identify gaps in services and compete for funding" said Blair, Continuum of Care Coordinator HUD defines homeless as persons who are sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, sleeping in emergency shelters or living in transitional housing having come from the a shelter or place not meant for human habitation.
Locally, our Point-In-Time Count will include persons staying at My Sister’s House, the Brick House, and CAC Transitional Housing. Last year's local count revealed that there were 71 homeless persons living in shelters or transitional housing programs. It Point-In-Time Count also counted people that are considered unsheltered, meaning that they are living on the streets, in their cars, in abandoned buildings, etc. It revealed that there were 18 unsheltered homeless persons in our county.
"Before I started working with the homeless, I was completely unaware of the homeless population in our small community. It was something that just didn’t cross my mind because it’s not something you see when you stop at a red light or go into the grocery store. Most individuals, like me, have this pre-conceived notion that a homeless person will be standing on the street corner holding a sign or pushing a Kroger shopping cart down the street, wearing layers of clothes. This isn’t something we see here in our rural community, but they are out there." said volunteer and SSI Ohio Specialist Melinda Hellard.
The Ohio Point-In-Time Count includes homeless men, women and children living on the streets or places not meant for human habitation, emergency shelters, or transitional housing program. The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio produces an annual Homeless Report, which can be found at www.cohhio.org.
For more information about this year's count, volunteer, or donate contact Christina Blair at 740-335-7282 extension 25 or cblair@cacfayettecounty.org.
