Armed with clipboards, surveys and layers of clothing, hundreds of volunteers loaded into cars before 5 a.m. on Tuesday with a mission to connect with the homeless as part of the the Point-in-Time homeless count in Phoenix.
Dawn Whittington fills out a survey during the Point-in-Time homeless count on Tuesday. (Photo by Tynin Fries/Cronkite News)
To comply with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s count requirement, the Maricopa Association of Governments rounded up volunteers to walk the streets in cities throughout the county to identify at-risk populations.
HUD has required counties to participate in the street counts since 2007, but Phoenix has held an annual count since 1999. HUD defines a homeless person as someone living or sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation such as a park, car or on the street.
The survey helps identify what types of people are experiencing homelessness and what kind of support they need. Volunteers also count those staying in shelters and other outreach programs. In 2016, there were 5,702 homeless people in the county, 1,646 of which were unsheltered, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments.
These numbers help the government secure funding from the Continuum of Care Program for local programs such as Community Bridges Inc. TJ Howard, outreach manager for the southern region for the nonprofit, traveled from Tucson to volunteer with the Maricopa County street count.