Volunteers help government count homeless people nationwide every year

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) –Thursday night, thousands of North Texas residents helped the federal government conduct its annual nationwide homeless count.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Administrator Candice Valenzuela says there are many in need in North Texas.

“We are seeing a rapid rise in the number of homeless people because the cost of living far exceeds wages, it far exceeds the wages of most people,” Valenzuela said. “They just don’t do it.”

She knows firsthand how scary it can be.

“In my personal situation, I was the daughter of a single mother and a veteran, and female veterans are 50% more likely to become homeless than all women,” she said. “I was about three or four years old, my brother was still a baby, and we lived in a kiddie pool right next to Texaco in El Paso, Texas.”

She says the HUD voucher helped her family in the end. This allowed them to rent an apartment.

“It gave me enough stability to finish school and go to college,” she said. “Today’s point-in-time tally tells the federal government how many dollars to allocate to end homelessness in that particular area.”

Housing Forward, a non-profit organization, coordinates counting efforts in Dallas and Collin counties.

Over 700 volunteers collect information on gender, race and age. The data helps to accurately assess the problem.

“It really helps us to inform and continue to inform what strategies need to be put in place,” said Sarah Kahn.

Learn more about the nationwide count here.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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