MENDOCINO CO., 1/22/18 — The annual “point-in-time” count of unsheltered people will begin around the county on the evening of Jan. 24, in coordination with a national homeless survey organized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The annual count is an effort, largely staffed by volunteers, to figure out how many people in Mendocino County are living without proper shelter. The greater the number of people counted, the more money that the county will be eligible for from state and federal agencies to support local homeless services. Organizers are currently seeking volunteers to assist with the survey effort. In the past the county has received around $1.5 million each year.
The count is being coordinated by the county’s “Continuum of Care” agencies, and begins at sunset on the evening of January 24 for one evening, and then continues over the next week so the county can provide as accurate numbers about different unsheltered populations as possible for the survey. The count is designed to capture a snapshot of a local unsheltered population, and the count includes anyone who is sleeping in a place “not meant for human habitation,” including people and families sleeping on the street, in cars, in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or hotels paid for by the government or charitable organizations.
Volunteer trainings will take place in Ukiah, Willits, and Fort Bragg in the next few days, after which volunteers will be able to assist with a countywide count of people sleeping outside overnight beginning a
To get involved, contact Garry Colson at: [email protected] (inland) or Maya Stuart
at: [email protected] (coast).
The trainings are at the following times and places:
Willits :Baechtel Creek Village in the Community Room, 61 Alder Ct, Willits, on Monday January 22, 2018 at 12:00 P.M.
Ukiah: Ford Street Project, 139 Ford St Ukiah, on Tuesday January 23, 2018 at 12:00 P.M. or 6:00 P.M.
Fort Bragg: Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center, 101 North Franklin Street, on Tuesday January 23, 2018, at 12:30 P.M. or 6:00 P.M.
