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Volunteers needed for annual homeless count
homeless
The annual point-in-time homeless population count will be held Jan. 29 and 30 (Journal file photo).

Stanislaus Community System of Care and the Stanislaus Homeless Alliance are looking for volunteers to assist with their point-in-time count of the county’s homeless population.

Required by the Department of Housing of Urban Development to conduct the count once every two years, Stanislaus County conducts the count yearly. This requires between 250 and 300 volunteers, according to Maryn Pitt, who serves as the volunteer chair of the Turlock, Modesto, Stanislaus County Continuum of Care.

“We’re usually short of volunteers here in Turlock and we could use the extra help,” said Pitt, who wore many hats during a career with the city of Turlock, most recently as the assistant to the city manager for economic development and housing. “We provide training for the volunteers to become familiar with app we use and on safety. We never send counters out by themselves. They’re always with at least one other person. We want to keep everybody as safe as they can be.”

The count will take place on the evening of Jan. 29, and again on the morning of Jan. 30. The deadline to register as a volunteer is Wednesday.

Last year, the count showed there were 2,052 unhoused persons in Stanislaus County, with 201 of those in Turlock. That was down from 2023 (2,091/233). Those totals, conversely, were up slightly from the year before (1,857/211).

HUD estimated that more than 770,000 people in the U.S. were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18 percent increase from 2023. HUD also found that there were nearly 190,000 homeless people in California in January 2024.

“About a quarter of the nation’s entire homeless population lives in California,” said Pitt. “That has a lot to do with the cost of housing here in the state.”

On the first evening PIT count, teams will focus on overnight shelters. The following day, they’ll spread out though various sectors of county cities and towns to count the unsheltered.

“The last two years, we’ve gone from having greater population of sheltered than unsheltered,” said Pitt. “We’re hoping this year it marks a trend and not just a two-year blip. It tells that we’re doing a really good job with outreach and engagement.”

Team members hand out small, brightly colored, string backpacks that have some necessities, such as socks, water and energy bars. The backpacks not only help to identify those who have already been counted, it also serves as something of a peace offering.

“There’s a level of trust that sometimes needs to be established,” said Pitt.

To volunteer, visit CSOCstan.com and punch the “click here to register” button.