COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Community Shelter Board will brave the frigid cold to conduct the annual count of the area’s homeless residents on Thursday.
The “point-in-time” counts are conducted across the nation in late January to determine the population of sheltered and unsheltered homeless adults and children. It is a funding requirement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Sara Loken, the board’s community relations director, said.
The board oversees the count, with local service agencies, and volunteers at homeless camps, free meal sites and at Veterans Memorial, 300 W. Broad Street.
Loken says homeless advocates have passed out flyers in shelters, on the streets and in camps urging people to come forward and be counted.
More than 50 social service agencies will be on hand at Vets’ Memorial, offering access to housing, food, healthcare, employment and other free services, Loken says.
Maryhaven’s outreach team will provide transportation from known camps.
The count will last from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.