The nation’s annual survey of homelessness will take place during the last full week of January. That’s when local social service agencies fan out into communities like the Big Bend to take stock of who is sheltered, and unsheltered. And the Big Bend Continuum of Care, which conducts the survey for this region, needs volunteers.
The Point in Time Count takes place across the country at the same time. It’s required for communities receiving federal funding, and Leon County Commissioner Rick Minor volunteers every year.
“Dozens of volunteers will go out with trained counselors, out throughout Leon County, meeting up and interviewing people that are on the street about their homelessness situation," Minor said. "It basically allows us to get a snapshot of the status of homelessness in Leon County.”
The data collected during the PIT Count tells policymakers at the state, national, and local levels about the scale and nature of homelessness in a given area. It also guides funding decisions and strategies.
Johnna Coleman is the executive director of the Big Bend Continuum of Care, which leads the Point in Time Count in the region. Each year, she and a group of volunteers and paid staffers take to the streets -- and everything in between -- to seek out people who are unhoused.
“I think it gives people a first-hand opportunity to engage and see what homelessness looks like," Coleman said, "and often you may just figure out that what you really thought homelessness looks like, it really doesn’t.”
According to federal data, homelessness increased across the country by 18 percent last year, while Leon County saw a 5 percent hike. This year’s survey comes amid new Florida laws aimed at preventing local governments from allowing people to sleep on public property while letting businesses sue over the issue.
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