Your Help Is Needed to Count People Experiencing Homelessness

More than 8,000 San Diegans are experiencing homelessness and in need of help.

You can assist by taking part in the annual Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing homeless in the region.

This is the seventh year the County has supported the annual count. During the span of several hours, volunteers count and survey people on the streets.

The count takes place Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 from 3:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Volunteers are being asked to arrive at 3:30 to allow time to become familiar with a new mobile app that will be used for counting. Use of the app will be optional. It will provide a tool to assist in a more accurate count.

The Board of Supervisors believes this is such a worthy cause that County employees who participate can do so on County time.  

As with last year, this year’s count, as directed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will entail an “engaged” survey-based approach, where people on the streets will be surveyed as they are encountered rather than just an observational count that was done in the past. To learn more about the engaged count, please watch this three-minute video. 

Last year, the region’s combined total came to 8,102 people, the fourth highest number in the nation. Importantly, the count helps the region identify the scope of the problem, apply for federal and state funding, and find solutions on how to best serve this vulnerable population.

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless is leading the local point-in-time effort with the WeALLCount campaign. Last year, about 700 County employees from different departments signed up for the count, and employees are again encouraged to participate in this important effort.

If you are interested in participating, review the FAQs and then obtain approval from your supervisor via the supervisor approval form.

Once approval has been obtained, please sign up here. Once you have signed up, you will receive an email receipt for this event after signing up to volunteer. In the email there will be a link to a training from The Regional Task Force on the Homeless for you to review.