The San Bernardino Point In Time Homeless Count took place yesterday (January 25). The Point In Time Count surveys people who are unhoused or living in the streets, and while the results are still being tabulated, the County shared volunteer participation numbers yesterday afternoon. 775 county residents volunteered to take part in the count, including 249 employees of the County across dozens of departments. Even Board of Supervisors Chair and local representative Dawn Rowe participated in the event.
Last year, reporter Heather Clisby participated in the count. She described the experience, saying
“It’s very early in the morning you are waking people up in their tents which doesn’t have a door to knock on… so you end up yelling. This is my first time volunteering – so I’m not familiar with a better way to be honest – not everybody wanted to come out of their tent.
In more than one situation there was one person that came out and referenced that there were several other people in the tent. It’s an inexact science of course and these are moving targets…”
The annual PITC is coordinated by the San Bernardino County Office of Homeless Services (OHS) in partnership with the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership. OHS uses numbers from the count to develop countywide public and private partnerships and to coordinate services and resources to end homelessness in San Bernardino County.
In 2023, 4195 unhoused people were contacted and counted in San Bernardino County, an increase of 862 individuals from the 3,333 people counted in 2022. Stay tuned to Z1077 for the results of the 2024 Point In Time Count.
