Volunteers needed for homeless counts across IE
Riverside County’s tally is Jan. 25; San Bernardino County’s is Jan. 26
Riverside and San Bernardino counties are seeking volunteers for an annual tally of the homeless population.
The 2023 Point-In-Time Homeless Count will take place in late January and gathers data used by counties and cities to get government and grant funding to address homelessness.
Riverside County’s tally will be Jan. 25; San Bernardino County’s will be Jan. 26.
In Riverside County, hundreds of volunteers will look for homeless people, ask them about their living situations and offer to connect them with social services.
“The data gathered from the count informs us where our services are needed most,” Supervisor Karen Spiegel said in a news release.
Last year, volunteers counted 1,980 homeless who were not living in shelters. Of those, 28% asked for some form of help.
Training is required for volunteers, who must have a smartphone or tablet and be able to walk for up to two hours. Volunteers ages 16 or 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
A count focusing on Riverside County homeless youths is scheduled for between Jan. 25 and 27.
Riverside County registration information: rivcohws.org/homeless-point-time-pit-count
In San Bernardino County, volunteers will again be using Arc
GIS Survey123, a web application designed for the county. They will need an Android smartphone, iPhone or iPad to do the survey. Devices should be no more than three or four years old and have at least 100 MB of available space.
Volunteers will supplement county and city employees, community groups, homeless service program staff, law enforcement, businesses and school districts doing counting.
Those interested are asked to sign up by Jan. 18 at: https://bit. ly/3PQVoLm.
Volunteers will receive virtual training before the survey.
Last year, San Bernardino County reported a 6.6% increase in the number of unhoused people in the county.