2011 Homless Census Survey needs Volunteeers

Help Needed for the 2011 Homeless Count

The 2011 Homeless Census and Survey is scheduled for January 28th, 2011. All counties that receive HUD funding for Permanent Supportive and Transitional Housing and Services are required to conduct a Point-in-Time Count every two years in the last week of January. Sonoma County agencies receive almost $2.5 Million in HUD funds through our Continuum of Care.

ASR, the Watsonville-based research firm that conducted Sonoma County’s 2009 Count will again oversee this project. 100 Community Volunteers with vehicles are needed. Your participation is critical to the success of this endeavor. For more information and links to sign up,

see: http://sonoma-county.org/cdc/cdhomeless_count.htm.

The project will again rely on homeless people to act as paid guides to reach encampments and places where homeless people gather. Homeless service providers will recommend people for the guide positions. Trainings will be scheduled for the week of January 17th, final dates will be posted at the above website as soon as they are confirmed. Volunteers will work with expert homeless guides recommended by service providers and drive/walk through assigned routes from daybreak to 10am,

Street Count Training:

Friday, January 21:

10:20 to 11:20 am - COTS Mary Isaak Center, 900 Hopper Street, Petaluma
1:00 to 2:00 pm - La Luz Center, 17560 Gregor Street, Sonoma
3:00 to 4:00 pm - Healdsburg Day Labor Center, 405 Grive Street, healdsburg
4:00 to 5:00 pm - Catholic Chrities Family Support Center, 465 A Street, Santa Rosa

Thursday, January 27:
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm - West County Community Services - Russian River Empowerment Center, 16390 Main Street, Guerneville

 Questions: Laura Conner at (877) 728-4545 or sonoma@appliedsurveyresearch.org

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that each county that receives Continuum of Care funding for homeless transitional and permanent supportive housing and services conduct a 24-hour face-to-face Point-in-Time Count of homeless people every other year in the last two weeks of January. Applied Survey Research of Watsonville was contracted to conduct the 2009 Count. The Task Force for the Homeless was contracted by the County to conduct these Counts in 2005 and 2007. These reports contain considerable data on the people who were homeless at the time, their circumstances, and the issues that contributed to their situation. Both the 2009 Homeless Census and Survey and 2007 Homeless Count Reports are available below, as well as a summary of 2009 Count figures for the State from Housing California. The aggregate number of homeless people counted at the federal level from all the January 2009 Point-in-Time Counts was 643,000. 

For PDFs of the last surveys and full information, please visit the Sonoma County Task Force on the Homeless at http://www.sonomacountyhomeless.org/counts.php