Homeless Count To Be Held Jan. 24

Housing/Neighborhood Development - Jan. 22, 2007
Contact: Tim West, 734-1305
James Asbury, 722-9951 extension 204

Media Advisory: Volunteers for the street count will meet in the auditorium at the Behavioral Health Plaza at 725 N. Highland Avenue at 9 p.m. Jan. 24 before leaving to make the count. They will return at midnight to tally their counts. James Asbury of The Bethesda Center is co-chair of the Homeless Council’s Outreach Committee and is a lead organizer of the street count. He can be reached at 722-9951, extension 204 or by cell at 416-5667 on the night of the street count.

Staff and volunteers of local agencies that help the homeless will conduct a count of the homeless on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The count will include the homeless in shelters and on the streets. Small teams of volunteers will conduct the street count and hand out food and blankets.

The count will help determine the extent of the needs of the homeless. Participants will encourage the homeless in the streets to use the shelters and services available in our community, said Tim West, the planning & development coordinator for the city’s Housing/Neighborhood Development Department.

"Most homeless use the shelters and services available," West said, "but we certainly want everyone to be aware they don’t have to stay outside, especially in the middle of winter."

The count is organized by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Council on Services for the Homeless and its member agencies. The data will be used as a baseline for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, which was adopted by the City Council and the Forsyth County Commissioners in 2006. The plan focuses on developing infrastructure and support services for people who have been homeless for significant periods of time and have a disability.

The local efforts are part of a national initiative by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to increase awareness about homelessness and bring communities together to end chronic, long-term homelessness. Local shelters confirm that there are 400 to 500 homeless people on any given night in Winston-Salem, of whom 150 to 200 are chronically homeless.

For more information, call Tim West at 734-1305.