Due to the recent spike in COVID cases, Riverside County is moving the 2022 Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count by 30 days. The count is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23, while the Youth Count is scheduled to run from Wednesday, Feb. 23 through Friday, Feb 25.
County staff from the Department of Housing and Workforce Solutions (DHWS) will continue their community planning efforts with local cities in preparation for the new date.
“Due to the ongoing pandemic, we made the decision to postpone the count,” said Heidi Marshall, DHWS director. “Our goal is to conduct a comprehensive and accurate count while ensuring appropriate safeguards for all involved. It is critical that we have current data on the local homeless population to assess the impact the pandemic may have caused.”
The PIT Count is an annual count of all sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals within Riverside County. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires PIT as a condition of funding. HUD uses the data to determine funding levels, assess regional needs and monitor local progress in reducing homelessness.
The Riverside County Continuum of Care, a community body comprised of over 200 individuals and organizations actively involved in planning and coordinating efforts to end homelessness in Riverside County, leads the effort.
New date will allow more time to recruit volunteers and county staff to participate in the count. Currently, about 380 volunteers have registered to participate and efforts are ongoing to recruit another 400. Training is required before the count. Volunteers must also have a smartphone or tablet to conduct the survey, be able to walk up to two hours and be aged 18 or older. An adult must accompany volunteers ages 16 to 17.
Interested participants may register at www.MoreThanACount.org or www.YouthCount.MoreThanACount.org.
The last time the county conducted a PIT Count was in 2020, with help from more than 800 volunteers and staff. During the 2020 count, 2,884 homeless individuals were identified in Riverside County; 2,155 of these individuals were unsheltered and 729 were sheltered.
A complete report on the Riverside County 2020 PIT Count may be found at https://www.harivco.org/ContinuumofCareDivision/. For homeless assistance, call the HomeConnect line at 800-498-8847 or email [email protected].
