Stanislaus County agencies took part recently in the annual Point in Time Count to survey the homelessness, with the count done over a two-day period.
The first day was the day to count and survey the ‘sheltered’ homeless groups and the second day focused on the countywide count for the unsheltered.
A total of 145 volunteers were involved in the Point in Time effort, having several volunteers assigned to the cities of Oakdale and Riverbank.
Each jurisdiction has a leader to coordinate the local efforts and volunteers are also required to go through training prior to conducting the count. This year’s effort was completed in late February, after having been postponed from its original January date.
The Stanislaus County Point in Time count covers Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank, Oakdale, Waterford, Newman, Patterson, Hughson and Keyes.
The count began between 6 and 7 a.m. each of the two days, spreading volunteers out across Stanislaus County, and ending between noon and 2 p.m.
The count numbers and data collection is a joint effort with the Salvation Army and Modesto Gospel Mission along with the count organizer CSOC, Stanislaus Community System of Care.
Comfort kits were handed out by volunteers to the homeless that they encountered during the count. The kits included socks, hygiene items, water, and snacks. A total of 3,000 kits were distributed throughout the county.
This year volunteers used a mobile phone app called “Counting Us” to conduct surveys of the homeless. The software app is from a company called Simtech Solutions, Inc. and it is helping other communities nationwide with PIT count efforts. The app is user friendly and can be used with or without internet access. The county is spending $9,647 on the mobile app software making it HUD (Housing and Urban Development) compliant and officials said it also gets the information out to the community quicker. The app also has location services that allow volunteers to capture information in real time. Live tech support was also available for volunteers during the days of the count if they experienced any issues with the app.
Keeping COVID-19 protocols intact, each volunteer had to be fully vaccinated or had a negative COVID test prior to the count. The count was also outdoors, so the choice for masks was optional.
HUD requires count data to be submitted by April, making the final count information and numbers available mid to late April, which in turn helps bring state and/or federal assistance to the region. Last year, a total of 2,927 homeless persons were identified in the 2021 PIT count.
“We appreciate the partnership of all of our city and community partners,” expressed Leng Power, Stanislaus County Community Services Agency’s Homeless and Housing Manager.
