by Mary Rupert
Trained volunteers are out today counting the number of homeless persons in the annual Point in Time homeless count.
The survey, required by the federal government, is taking place Wednesday and Thursday in Wyandotte County, as well as across the state line in Jackson County, Mo., according to Evelyn E. Craig, president and CEO of reStart, an agency which offers services to the homeless.
Volunteers will be going to the Frank Williams Center, 1201 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas, today to conduct the survey, and to the Wilhelmina Gill Services Center, 645 Nebraska Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday, she said.
The volunteers, more than 150 in number, also will be at four locations in Kansas City, Mo., for the count, including at reStart’s Housing Solutions Center. In addition, the volunteers will visit camps where there might be homeless persons, she added.
Craig said every year, across the nation, the point in time homeless census is conducted.
“That is a one-day snapshot of who’s in our streets, emergency shelters and transitional programs,” Craig said.
Volunteers record information including the number of homeless persons, their age and whether they are veterans, Craig said.
The results are used over a period of time to determine if programs are making progress in reducing the homeless numbers, she said. The results, which will be taken electronically this year for the first time, also can be used to direct resources to specific solutions.
“We are making progress,” Craig said. “The numbers decreased slightly in the last three years.”
The number of veterans who are homeless has decreased significantly because of the efforts of more than 32 agencies, she added.
The Wyandotte County Point in Time statistics for last year showed a total of 150 households that were homeless in 2017, as compared to 179 in 2016, 161 in 2015, 170 in 2014 and 230 in 2013.
Of the 150 households, including 189 individuals, last year in Wyandotte County, 77 adults and children were in emergency shelters, 71 adults and children were in transitional housing programs, and 41 adults and children were unsheltered, the survey found.
Thirty-two of the total number of homeless in Wyandotte County were under 18 years old, 20 persons were age 18 to 24, and 137 persons were older than 24, according to the survey.