An annual survey to document the number of homeless in Riverside County was completed Tuesday thanks to the efforts of 800 people who fanned out, going into camps, searching under bridges and visiting shelters.
The 2019 “Point-in-Time Homeless Count” involved staff from the Department of Public Social Services, along with a phalanx of volunteers canvassing multiple locations.
“In previous years, we didn’t even have 500 volunteers, but we’ve redoubled efforts to deploy people,” county CEO George Johnson said during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting in downtown Riverside. “We need to find out how many homeless and where they’re located to attract more federal and state investment to get services to those in need.”
Supervisor Karen Spiegel echoed the sentiment, expressing concern that in the past, the county may have had “artificial numbers,” lowering state and federal aid for homeless programs.
“Accurate numbers are the trigger point for our funding,” Spiegel said. “We need the funding and resources so we can help ease the homeless (difficulty). The homeless need resources, and we need to come to some consensus to address this countywide rather than each city working alone on the problem.”
Natalie Komuro, deputy director of homeless solutions for DPSS, said this year’s “significant turnout of volunteers demonstrates how much residents in Riverside County care about doing something to address homelessness.”
Individuals affiliated with faith-based organizations, college students, members of neighborhood watch groups and others supported the count.
The countywide census is mandated under a U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development grant.
The operation got underway before dawn and was split between a street-level count and a “service-based survey,” officials said.
During the street walk, volunteers departed from 31 locations to visit parks, alleyways, overpasses and encampments, hoping to ascertain the number of people living in places not intended for habitation, according to DPSS.
The service survey entailed visiting shelters, and volunteers concentrated on identifying homeless youths, identified as anyone under 25 years old without a fixed residence.
Officials noted that this year, a mobile app, ESRI Survey 123, was the primary means of documenting the number of dispossessed people in the county. The app replaced the old method of putting pen to paper.
The 2018 homeless count identified about 2,300 adults and children living on the streets and in shelters countywide, a 5 percent drop compared to 2017, according to DPSS figures.
Results of this year’s survey will be published in the spring, officials said.