PALM SPRINGS — Volunteers are needed to assist in Riverside County’s 2019 Point-In-Time Homeless Street Count and Survey on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

The Riverside County Department of Social Services and the city of Palm
Springs have issued the plea for assistance.

The Palm Springs street count, a one-day effort to identify how many people in Riverside County are without homes on a given day, will take place between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Volunteers can also sign up for an additional services count from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the time local agencies offer lunch to homeless citizens.

The number of people without homes in Riverside County in 2018 decreased by 4 percent compared to a count in 2017. The 2018 “point in time” count totaled 2,310 adults and children, compared to 2,406 in 2017.

The 2018 federally mandated count in Riverside County was conducted the morning of Jan. 23. As in previous years, approximately 500 volunteers teamed up with outreach staff and experienced professionals from more than 130 agencies to canvass pre-identified areas.

The survey counts unsheltered and sheltered homeless people. The 2018 survey showed a 19 percent decrease in the number of sheltered homeless and a 3 percent increase in unsheltered individuals – a 4 percent decrease overall from 2017. The slight increase in Riverside County’s unsheltered homeless count (3 percent) was trending with other southern California counties that also experienced increases.

Point-In-Time Count volunteers will use Esri Survey 123 as the primary data collection tool replacing paper-based forms in 2019. Volunteers will be asked to attend a training session to learn how to use the survey tool and receive training in other safety and logistical information.

Results of the 2019 Homeless Count and Survey provide critical updates on national and local progress towards solving homelessness.

To register to volunteer, visit here or here and click on Residents where you will find a link for the Point-In-Time Homeless Count.

For more information, contact the County Point-in-Time Coordinator at (951) 358-3844 or via email at RivCoPIT@RivCo.org.