Homeless Count Underway Across Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Volunteers Wednesday fanned out across Riverside County to count how many homeless persons reside in the county.

The 2020 "Riverside County Point-in-Time Homeless Count" includes a four-hour general count, aimed at how many people of all ages are homeless, which ran from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Then from 2 to 8 p.m., Wednesday until Friday, volunteers will scour the county to specifically tally how many children are affected by homelessness.

"Homelessness is not an issue any one group or community can solve on their own," said Natalie Profant Komuro, deputy county executive officer of homelessness solutions, in a previous statement. "We have to work together to get the most accurate count possible, which helps determine where we put those much-needed dollars and services to help our homeless neighbors get back on their feet."

The countywide census is mandated under a U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development grant that uses count data to determine funding for homeless mitigation programs in the county.

The count is being split between a street-level operation and a "service-based survey." During the street walk, volunteers are visiting parks, alleyways, overpasses and encampments to ascertain the number of people living in places not intended for habitation, according to DPSS. The service survey will entail visiting shelters.

The effort is key to understanding how many homeless or housing- insecure residents live within Riverside County, and the nation. The data are also used by policy makers in determining the scope of homelessness nationwide — including what's working, and what's not.

The 2019 count identified a total of 2,811 sheltered and unsheltered homeless adults and children across the county, a 21 percent increase from 2018 numbers.

To view data from last year's count, visit www.dpss.co.riverside.ca.us/files/pit/pit-count-report-final.pdf. For more information, visit www.rivcoexchange.com.