City of Long Beach Seeks Volunteers to Participate in the 2020 Homeless Count
The City of Long Beach is seeking 200 volunteers to help conduct the 2020 Point in Time Count, requiring them to do a street count of people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. The PIT Count helps determine the range of homelessness in the city, defines existing resources available and identifies gaps.
The homeless population in Long Beach has decreased by 40% since 2011, with a flat count recorded in 2019. That year, a total of 1,894 individuals were counted in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and living in places not meant for human habitation like parks, beaches, and city streets.
In a statement, Mayor Robert Garcia said, “One of the most common questions we hear from the community regarding homelessness is what can I do? The Point in Time Count is a way people can make a difference.”
To volunteer for the PIT Count, volunteers must meet be 18 years or older, attend an orientation prior to the day of the count, and commit to a three- to four-hour shift on the day of the count Thursday, January 23.
Volunteers must attend one orientation on the following dates:
- Monday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 1 p.m. or 6 p.m.
- Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Jan. 16, at 1 p.m. or 6 p.m.
The count starts at 5 a.m. at the Multi-Service Center (1301 W. 12th St.). Groups of three to five volunteers will be teamed up: some will conduct a residential-based count of all people living in emergency and transitional housing programs, and others will be assigned a GIS-mapped segment of the city for the street-based count.
For more information on the count, you can download the homeless count flyer. To register for the count visit, https://veoci.com/veoci/p/form/4mgapbkdkz2n#tab=entryForm. Registration will close once 200 volunteers have been recruited.
By: Jocelyn Torralba
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