Volunteers took to the streets of Austin-Travis County to personally count the number of homeless people for the first time in 2 years.

Austin, Texas – For the first time in two years, volunteers took to the streets of Austin to count as many people as possible living homeless.

“Thank you for having the soul to care for our neighbors,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said.

In the dark, cold and rain, hundreds of volunteers gathered around 3 a.m. Saturday to find as many homeless people as possible.

“The feeling, the feeling, the connection and the sense of community that is there right here in this sanctuary is something we should enjoy. It’s the Austin feeling, it’s the connection we have with each other and with all people tonight. to which we will refer,” Mayor Watson said.

Gina McCool is one of hundreds of volunteers on Saturday. “They are my neighbors. They just don’t have a place to live, so I want to meet them, and if I can be of service to them, I want to do it.” McCool said.

Volunteers searched in the forest, behind houses and under overpasses. — Where are you going to sleep tonight? one volunteer asked a homeless man.

Volunteers fill out a questionnaire about the personal information and health of the homeless person and distribute care kits with toiletries, warm clothes and snacks. The point-in-time count is then included in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development report to determine how much federal funding Austin-Travis County Continuum of Care will receive in its next budget.

“We’re coming out here right now to do an accurate count to get these numbers to the right people to make sure our clients in the homeless community are getting the resources,” said Chase Wright, executive director of the Hungry Hill Foundation.

READ MORE

It has been two years since Continuum of Care has used this search and find method, and some say it may not be the most accurate process. The sergeant in charge of the constable assistance program in Travis County 3 said it was harder to count everyone on Saturday due to rain, fewer volunteers this year, and he said more homeless people are moving more often.

“I have spoken to several well-known homeless people in the Oak Hill area that I have a great relationship and they tell me that now people stay in one place for more than two or three days, they don’t set up a long-term camp and they just stay, and they will move because they, as they call it, have been pushed out of their usual camps, so it’s not a fact that they are not there, they are not so easy to find. like before,” Sgt. said Drew MacAngus.

He said that this point in time is not a complete and accurate count of the number of homeless people.

“We never get real numbers. I think we’re probably counting one out of every three that’s out there.” – Sgt. Macangus said.

But he said it was a way for them to check on their neighbors.

“It shows them that there are people who care, who want to help, help them in their set of circumstances. We have so many here in our area here in Travis County that sometimes they feel like they’re forgotten or the only time anyone cares.” people complain about it,” Sgt. said Macangus.

The Ending Community Homeless Coalition, or ECHO, estimates that at least 4,500 people are homeless in Austin or Travis County.