Latest news with #PointInTimeCount
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Encampments removed in Tacoma were ‘notably larger' in first quarter of 2025
The City of Tacoma removed nearly 80 homeless encampments during the first quarter of the year. While only a slight increase from the previous quarter, city officials said the encampments removed so far this year were 'notably larger.' According to data from Tacoma's Neighborhood and Community Services Department, the city conducted 79 encampment removals during the first quarter of 2025. The city removed 68 encampments during the first quarter of 2024. City spokesperson Maria Lee told The News Tribune encampments removed in the first quarter of 2025 were 'notably larger' than in the last quarter of 2024, with several locations having more than 10 tents. Lee said the first quarter of 2025 included approximately four weeks of pauses in removals for certain holidays and the Point In Time Count — a one-night survey of those living homeless. Those pauses might have allowed the camps to grow, she said. The city agreed to not remove encampments for approximately two weeks ahead of the county's annual survey of those living unhoused. The city stated the pause was intended to allow the county to collect more accurate data. In the first quarter of 2025, the city spent $561,112 to remove 488,960 tons of debris from encampments. In the first quarter of 2024, the city spent $585,621 to remove 605,600 tons of debris. According to data from Tacoma's Homeless Engagement and Alternatives Liaison Team, the city records the highest volume of encampment reports during the summer months. In March, Shiloh Baptist Church closed its homeless shelter, which had 40 beds. The city is preparing to lose nearly 400 shelter beds by the end of 2025. Heading into the 2025 legislative session, Tacoma requested roughly $6 million to keep roughly 300 shelter beds operational through 2025. By June the city will lose 339 shelter beds without state funding. Lee told The News Tribune as of the first quarter of 2025, the city has a little over 1,000 shelter beds. With fewer shelter beds available than in previous years, the impact on the number of encampments the community will see is unclear. In October 2022, the Tacoma City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits camping and the storage of personal belongings in a 10-block radius around temporary shelters and all public property within 200 feet of Tacoma's rivers, waterways, creeks, streams and shorelines. Under the ordinance, violators face fines of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail. To date, the city reports that two citations or fines have been issued since the ordinance was passed. To enforce the policy, the city uses both police and homeless-outreach staff, known as the HEAL team, who make contact with people living in encampments that have been reported to the city. Their job is to get folks living unhoused to accept offers of shelter and services that help them get off the streets. The HEAL team reportedly contacted 519 people in the first quarter of 2025. It contacted 454 people during the first quarter of the previous year. When offered services by the HEAL team, historically only about half of individuals accept those services. That trend continued in the first quarter of 2025, with 54% of individuals expressing interest in the services offered. According to the city, the HEAL team placed 74 people into shelter during the first quarter of 2025, about 14% of those it contacted. In the first quarter of 2024, 61 were placed into shelter by the HEAL team, about 13%.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2025 Point In Time Count volunteers survey homeless individuals around Kern County Wednesday
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Homelessness rose by 37% in 2024, to more than 2,600 homeless individuals in Kern County, according to Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative. The Mission at Kern County serves as the headquarters for the 2025 Point In Time Count. Kern County Board of Supervisors votes to separate voter registrar duties of Auditor-Controller-Clerk's office 'We're mandated by Housing and Urban Development to do this every year, it's a snapshot really, we have four hours to do this survey,' Steve Peterson, Director of Programs at the Mission at Kern County. Volunteers have four hours to go around town and the county to find every homeless person they can and survey them. In an effort to get an accurate number on homelessness in the county. Or as close to an accurate number as possible. 'Every year we get better and better, so I want to say that our count comers fairly close, but I'm sure we're not going to get everybody,' Peterson said. Tracking homeless in the shelters is the easy part. The hard part is counting the ones outside. But they have a plan for that. Never miss a story: Make your homepage 'What we do is we create these teams, there's a four-person team that will go out there, and they'll have a map. And they stay within that area, so we're not just randomly going out there,' Peterson went on to explain. Even then, it's still not enough to track all of them, especially in those rural areas of the county. That's why they'll still have two extra days to track those rural areas and make sure they're counted too. All to make sure the count is as accurate as possible, so that funds to help the homeless get properly allocated. 'They go to supportive services that come along and help people get into housing, or once they get into housing help them stay in housing… our goal is to get them off the streets so they can be in a safe environment. Nobody should have to live out there on the streets,' Peterson said. Hear what one volunteer had to say about her experience volunteering for the annual Point In Time Count in the video player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
United Way Home for Good kicks off homeless count in the Chattahoochee
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — Monday night, United Way Home for Good kicked off their annual Point In Time Count. The Point In Time Count is a requirement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for communities to do a full count of individuals experiencing homelessness every two years. However, the Chattahoochee Valley has been conducting its counts annually for nearly 13 years. On Monday, groups of volunteers visited multiple shelters around the Valley to conduct the 'Sheltered Point In Time Count.' This count includes individuals who experience homelessness in temporary housing. Pat Frey, the Vice President of United Way Home for Good says the valley does not have the stereotypical style of homeless shelters. 'It's not like a gymnasium kind of thing with a bunch of cots,' Frey explains. 'It is an apartment or a … room in an apartment … or a housing structure for a family to be in so they can have their privacy.' The temporary housing allows those experiencing homelessness to have their immediate needs met while making sure people are connected to resources that can help end their homelessness. 'Our community, like most communities, saw an increase,' Frey shares. 'Our community, the numbers haven't gone up that much, but we have seen a post-pandemic increase.' Frey credits the increase to folks having a difficult time keeping up with the increased prices of rent. Conducting these counts allow United Way Home for Good to see trends and make decisions based on their findings to help end homelessness. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Officials gathering results after Wiregrass 'Point In Time Count'
(WDHN) — Officials are gathering the results of the annual Southeast Alabama Coalition for the Homeless (SEACH) 'Point In Time Count'. Volunteers from across the Wiregrass participated on Saturday. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development asks communities nationwide to count the homeless, those without a physical address at a particular time. The count greatly affects funding, both private and public for organizations that assist the homeless community. One of the counts took place in Enterprise at the First Methodist Church, where groups asked for donations to offer people clothing, blankets, and other necessities they may need. SEACH is expected to release the official total later in the week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
