Volunteers Still Needed to Help Count Banning, Beaumont Homeless Population

Officials in Moreno Valley Friday announced the need for more volunteers to help tally the number of homeless people living in the city and county.

Riverside County’s annual “Point-in-Time Homeless Count” is slated for Jan. 26. Department of Public Social Services personnel will canvass multiple locations to gauge how many people are living on the streets and in shelters.

The Moreno Valley Financial Resources Agency is coordinating the effort locally and is seeking help from faith-based organizations, college students, neighborhood watch groups, and anyone else interested in lending a hand.

Last year, 533 individuals volunteered their time to conduct the countywide census, and DPSS officials said at least 500 are needed for the upcoming count, which is mandated under a U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development grant.

The count will be split between a street-level operation and a “service- based survey,” officials said. During the street walk, volunteers will visit parks, alleyways, overpasses and encampments to ascertain the number of people “living in places unfit for human habitation,” according to DPSS spokeswoman Mary Parks.

She said the service survey will entail visiting shelter locations.

The 2015 homeless count identified 1,587 people living on the streets and 883 in shelters countywide, according to DPSS.

The total -- 2,470 -- compares to roughly 6,200 people counted four years ago, agency figures show.

Registration and information about the survey are available here: www.RiversideHomelessCounts.com .

The Moreno Valley Financial Resources Agency can be contacted at (951) 413-3450.

– By City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.