Help Us Help Them – Count the Homeless

Sometimes you see them, sometimes you don’t. But they are out there. Thousands of homeless men, women and children in San Diego County. Last January, a one-time count found 8,506 homeless people in the region.   

You can help them, and all it takes is a few hours of your time. The Board of Supervisors is appealing to your spirit of volunteerism to step forward again for the Point-in-Time Count project with the WeALLCount campaign. For just one early morning, volunteers are being asked to systematically comb through the region’s neighborhoods to tally how many homeless people they see.

The Board agrees this is such a worthy cause that employees who come forward will be allowed to participate on paid County time. County volunteers are being asked only to count the homeless. Volunteers work in teams and make visual observations.

Why is the count important? It is used to apply for federal funding to help this at-risk population. Accuracy in numbers also helps County staff identify the scope of the problem and work on solutions.    

The count takes place Friday, Jan. 23 from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. The Regional Task Force on the Homeless is leading the WeALLCount campaign but last year approximately one fourth of its volunteer force was made up of County employees. That means 371 County employees volunteered for the event and the Board hopes even more will come forward this year.  

To sign up, employees need to get approval from their supervisor with a supervisor approval form, and then review the registration guidelines and FAQs (DA, Sheriff and SDCERA access from this folder). Once completed, they can register for the WeALLCount campaign on the Task Force’s website. A short training course on LMS is also required. County time is being allowed for the training as well as the count itself. For more information about the County’s volunteer effort, email WeAllCount@sdcounty.ca.gov.