Santa Clarita Valley homeless shelter officials are still in need of a few dozen volunteers for a homeless count scheduled for Jan. 29, officials said Monday.
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“In Santa Clarita, we need about 100 volunteers,” said Tim Davis, the executive director of Bridge To Home, last week.
The count is crucial to the homeless population, because it provides a critical component for funding, and without an estimate about the degree of concern, those less fortunate are unlikely to get the assistance they need, officials said.
“We can’t do all the things we do to help homeless families in Santa Clarita if we don’t get these resources,” Davis said.
The count, which is scheduled to start Jan. 29 at 8 p.m., is part of a countywide effort. Officials are asking for several thousand across the county, according to a Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority officials.
Officials expect the count to be completed by 10:30 p.m.
The count is set to start after a short training session to be held at the Santa Clarita Activities Center, followed by pairs of volunteers who will be assigned areas to drive through as they look for signs of homelessness, Davis said.
Volunteers will be provided with snacks, flashlights, clipboards, tally sheets, census tract packets with maps and pencils.
“It is a very simple activity, we don’t ask the volunteers to get out of their cars, just drive through the assigned area and look for specific indicators of homelessness,” Davis said.
To register as a volunteer to help the homeless shelter visit the website here.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires a count of homeless persons living on the street every two years, while a count of sheltered homeless persons is required to take place every year, according to a news release.
The count is held nation-wide during the last 10 days of January across the United States.
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