2019 Point-in-Time Homeless Count Nearly Reaches 1500 in Humboldt
Homeless man [Photo by Bobby Kroeker]
More than 1,470 unsheltered people were counted in Humboldt County during this year’s Point-in-Time (PIT) count, according to results from the Jan. 23 count of people experiencing homelessness.
This year’s count showed the largest number of unsheltered people in Eureka, followed by the Arcata-Manila area, the Garberville-Redway-Benbow area and McKinleyville.
More than 140 volunteers from across the county participated in the count, which takes place in communities across the U.S. on a single night in January, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Numbers from the count are used by the state of California to allocate funding to counties to address homelessness and housing.
The biennial PIT count, conducted by the Humboldt Housing and Homeless Coalition (HHHC), documents the number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people.
Sally Hewitt, co-chair of the HHHC and senior program manager with the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services, said this year the county used a software program to conduct the count which made it possible to have some results available to the community much earlier than in previous years when the count was done by paper surveys.
“We are still finalizing some of the numbers from the surveys, but we know this was a very successful PIT count,” she said. “This is due to the amazing work done by many volunteers who turned out early to begin counting and surveying people experiencing homelessness.”
On Jan. 23, volunteers connected with homeless people throughout the county to administer voluntary surveys with questions about age, physical and mental health status and where they slept the night before. In addition to surveying people, for the first time, volunteers were also able to conduct an observational count of people who were sleeping or who declined to participate in the survey.
For the unsheltered portion of the PIT, volunteers could only count people who fall under the HUD definition: An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport or camp ground.
Numbers for the people in the sheltered count, which HUD defines as an individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangement (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income individuals), will be forthcoming.
The PIT provides a snapshot of the homeless population at a specific point in time, and Hewitt said the success of this year’s count is due in big part to community volunteers. “Thank you to all who participated and supported this work that directly benefits the communities of Humboldt,” she said. “Their work assures we will have the funds we need to help people into housing, to assist them in retaining housing and to help prevent currently housed people from becoming homeless.”
The HHHC is a coalition of housing advocates, businesses, funders, elected officials, services and housing providers, faith-based organizations and other community stakeholders working together to identify and address local housing needs. In Humboldt County, the HHHC is the lead organization for homeless issues and the federally designated Continuum of Care. For more information about the HHHC, visit its website at http://www.humboldthousing.org/.
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The unsheltered count, below, indicates the number of people who slept in a place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, the night before the Jan. 23, 2019 count.Location: Number of people:
Eureka 653
Arcata-Manila 263
Garberville-Redway-Benbow 220
McKinleyville 121
Fortuna-Loleta-Ferndale 83
Willow Creek-Weitchpec-Orleans-Pecwan 49
Rio Dell 40
Blue Lake 14
Orick 14
Petrolia 10
Trinidad 6
Total 1,473
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🕯There are not correct but they do what they can I guess. Still no shelters for those south of Eureka if you open up one or two you might get a different number for some of these southern areas.
Tell us how it really is Willie.
you can’t get more HUD grants without showing a success, according to Ben Carson. during the last hour of the 2017 count, the head cheese of the count quit for a reason. I am sure Danco has more plans to build projects so we will be seeing a downward count over the next decade while the number keeps going up, like this year. what happens when you get the City to board up your competiton before you complete your housing project? more homeless.
According to the jobs report, which is a study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just edged up to 4% from 3.9 previous job report. In a thriving economy we should be able to find jobs just about anywhere. Most people that are not working, are retired most of the people that live on the streets do it by choice. In Ferndale we get one or two sometimes three homeless. But it’s not a big problem. Although we think they might have stoled a Christmas tree. We don’t think they do too much damage. They usually move our find a place to live within a few months are so.
🕯By there numbers they have many let say 200. When in fact its closer to 500 to maybe 700. Some have warrants and run,some are like the test of you scared of the government so when they get the word that this happen they either run deeper into the woods were the government workers are scared to go or the play find Waldo. Theres alot of abounded buildings,farms, out building hell even caves that they will retreat too.
Newsome: Is that all? Here, hold my yogurt.
Incoherence is your finest trait
That is over10% of the 2010 census for Garberville and Redway being homeless.
Actually less if the signs are accurate. But why be factual
Lol more like 300 or more in the redway / garberville area i live and work in town and help a few of the homeless …..most of the one’s i know did not get counted…….need to have someone that is here do it ….
🕯👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾⛾
They were recruiting volunteers for some time. Step up next time.
At least that many.
To give perspective to the numbers, San Fran’s homeless rate is 0.85% vs Eureka at 2.4%, almost 3x.
https://sfist.com/2019/02/20/san-francisco-homeless-census-numbers-facts/
This is a count for the unsheltered homeless. Many homeless folks couch-surf and sleep on a friends couches. Also, many sleep in their vechile and park far away from other homeless. How can these people be included in the head count?
🕯Good point Liz.👍🏾
Humboldt county is only fooling themselves to think that there is anyway to count the population. Many people come and go without being counted.
I would say that hundreds of people have left Humboldt in the last two years. Count the kids in school, estimate how many people, on the average, have kids in Humboldt. Then estimate how many people are here and how many left. I think it would be a real eye opener. I’m sure that most of the homeless have stayed.
🕯Not all are from Humboldt County. Most come due to lack of proper enforcement of the law or the laws are passed to make it easier for them to survive here. A lot are drifters/trimmers that were trapped when people decided to go local.
if that were true, wouldn’t we have more homeless now than before prop 64. I don’t get it willie. all of the information available states that most are from here. I don’t get your angle unless you are that leatherman with an agenda in old town. if so I get it, otherwise I don’t get it.
🕯Oh there here just open your eyes to the truth of there plight.
Since Trump is in office, and been making America great again. There is hardly any problems, in the United States. No homelessness hardly at all, more jobs. Companies are moving back in the United States by the Millions. Putting everybody to work. We are even trying to help Venezuela with lots of humanitarian Aid. I hear he’s even fixed global warming.
And that’s just what they counted, I’m homeless and I try to stay hidden they definitely didn’t count me. in fact I was sleeping in my car in cutten last night when that masked prowler was peeking in cars, scary stuff!
🕯Scary shit huh!!