Volunteers Needed to Count Homeless People in Lake Elsinore, Wildomar

Officials are seeking 400 volunteers to join in a count of homeless people across Riverside County on Jan. 28, according to the Department of Public Social Services.

Volunteers must be willing to walk into areas where homeless people live, to conduct brief surveys. Such areas include streets, abandoned buildings, freeway overpasses and underpasses, vehicles, squatter camps and other areas, officials said.

The homeless count— which occurs every other year and is mandated by the federal government— will be from 5 to 9 a.m.

Some volunteers will work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at places were the homeless receive services, like soup kitchens.

Each volunteer must take part in one of the 90-minute training sessions, which will be held through early January.

A count in 2013 tallied 2,098 homeless individuals in Riverside County. During that count, 92 people were living on the streets in Lake Elsinore, and 18 more were homeless in Wildomar. 

Those interested in registering or finding out more can go to www.riversidehomelesscounts.com, send an email to RivCoPIT@RiversideDPSS.org, or call (951) 358-4470.

— City News Service contributed to this report.

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