Point-in-Time Count Canceled for 2021 Due to COVID Concerns

County employees Rubi Lopez and Rosanna Robledo speak with an unidentified man during the 2020 Point-in-Time Count.

Because of the ongoing health dangers posed by COVID-19, the Regional Taskforce on the Homeless has canceled the street portion of the Point-In-Time Count. Given the uncertainty of stay-at-home orders and the need for close interactions in surveying individuals experiencing homelessness, the taskforce received a waiver from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

For several years now, San Diego County has been one of the largest sources of volunteers for the count. Last year, 560 of 1,600 volunteers were County employees. The count is important because the data allocates funding to regions that is used to pay for homeless outreach strategies and deliver critical mental health, substance abuse and housing services to these individuals.

“We support the taskforce’s decision and reasoning. Ensuring the safety of all involved during this time is a critical priority,” said Omar Passons, director of the County Division of Integrative Services. 

Passons said he also wanted to let employees know that other resources for gathering data on unsheltered individuals will help during this time. In addition to a range of efforts by County staff and contractors to engage directly with people experiencing homelessness on a daily basis, the Regional Taskforce tracks and examines dozens of important statistical categories every day that give a real-time picture of how individuals and families maneuver into, through and out of the homelessness crisis response system.