666 Homeless Found in Chester County on Jan. 25

A report compiled by the has found that 666 people were homeless in the county on the night of January 25 and morning of January 26, 2012.

The 2012 Point-in-Time Count is a national effort sponsored by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness. This includes individuals and families who are sheltered in emergency shelters and transitional shelters, as well as unsheltered individuals on the street or in places not meant for sleeping.

In Chester County, 419 adults without children and 72 families, with 223 total members, were in shelters. Last year, 709 individuals were in shelters. The report also found 24 people were on the streets with 16 being in West Chester, four in the Exton, Paoli and Malvern area, three in Kennett Square and one in Phoenixville.

“While our over-all numbers are shrinking, the amount of people in families experiencing homelessness is rising,” the report stated. The number of individuals in families that were homeless in 2011 was 205, 18 less people than in 2012.

More than 100 volunteers from government, educational and civic organizations took part in the Chester County count. In conjunction with the 2012 Point-in-Time Count, the AmeriCorps’ VISTA Team conducted outreach and qualitative surveys with residents at the 10 emergency shelters in Chester County.

Moreover, consumers and former consumers assisted with the overall unsheltered count by participating in the regional teams and providing in-depth knowledge and experience to reach out to other consumers.

Data from the Chester County count is included in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report. The Point-in-Time Count is one component of understanding homelessness in Chester County and part of the proactive strategy of the Chester County Commissioners initiative Decade to Doorways: The Community’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Chester County.