More Volunteers Needed for Homeless Count

Nearly 400 County employees have volunteered for the Point-in-Time homeless count later this month. With so much riding on an accurate count of the homeless, can we take it to 500 volunteers?

Time is short and that’s why we’re appealing to you to register for the count as soon as possible. The deadline to sign up is Friday, Jan. 15.  

This is the third year in a row that the Board of Supervisors has agreed this is such a worthy cause that employees who come forward will be allowed to participate on paid County time. Hundreds of you responded but more are needed to reach the goal of 500.

In 2014, County employees made up about one-fourth of the volunteers in the regionwide effort. In 2015, nearly a third. The aim for the 2016 count is a solid third if not more.

The count is important because it’s used to apply for federal funding to help this at-risk population. The count also helps County staff identify the scope of the problems and work on solutions.

Last year, the Point-in-Time Count project with the WeALLCount campaign counted more than 8,700 homeless people in San Diego County, making it the fourth largest homeless population in the nation.

If you’re not familiar with the count, it is a snapshot in time of the homeless people that can be counted in one morning throughout San Diego County. County volunteers work in teams, are assigned to specific locations and add up the number of homeless people they see. 

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless is leading the WeALLCount campaign, which takes place Friday, Jan. 29 from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. 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 can use these links:supervisor approval form; registration guidelines; FAQs) Once completed, you can register for the WeALLCount campaign on the Task Force’s website. A short training course will be emailed to you. County time is being allowed for the training as well as the count itself.