On January 27 the District conducted its annual Point In Time Enumeration. From 9pm - 2am outreach workers, case managers, and volunteers looked for people who are homeless outdoors and in need of shelter. You might wonder, what's the purpose of counting at midnight who is homeless?

When Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place was first created, it was because of a dedicated group of neighbors who insisted that there were homeless people in Upper Northwest, despite how it appeared, and they wanted to make a difference. They organized a count and found there were over 100 people living homeless in our neighborhood. Because of this great need, they organized small congregation-based shelters to help their neighbors.

Over the years Friendship Place has grown to serve people in our drop-in center, offer medical care, and offer supportive services to more than 130 people in our shelters and permanent housing.

But it all started with a count that told us how many people were in need.

Each year, the District organizes this enumeration at the end of January to see how many people are still outside overnight, and in need of assistance. During the Point In Time survey, Valencia, our outreach worker, and Jay, our small shelter case manager, will be out there from 9pm - 2am, looking for people they can help.

When asked how they thought the Point In Time count would go, Valencia said, "Maybe we'll see five people." It's been a cold winter, and many people are going into shelter.

Jay, a veteran from last year's Point In Time, guessed that they would find closer to fifteen people outside.

Valencia and Jay will bring blankets, sandwiches, and water to share with the people they meet on the street. They will encourage people to come into the drop-in center and get help, and to join the waiting list for a shelter bed. Hopefully, next year, there will be even less people sleeping outside.