Volunteers needed to help coordinate a count of the homeless population in the county

Volunteers are being sought to help coordinate a count of the homeless population in the county, pursuant to federal guidelines. This is part of a nationwide effort, coordinated through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to get a sense of how many people qualify as “homeless” according to the restrictive guidelines provided. Efforts will also be made to tabulate those who are “unstably housed” but do not fulfill the narrow federal definition for homelessness. 

This count must take place during the last ten days of January, and locally it is scheduled for January 23-25. That will give a little time to reschedule parts of the effort, should bad weather scuttle those plans. Laura Nordstrom, recently appointed as the first director of housing and homelessness in the county, is working with an established group — the nonprofit coalition Ulster County Continuum of Care — to plan for and execute the count. That group, which also has local government representatives, is additionally the recipient of about $1.6 million annually in federal funds to address homelessness, making this count all the more important to get right. 

For the official tally that’s reported to federal workers, there are a few ways an individual can qualify. Largely, homelessness is defined as having “a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation,” or living in a shelter. Those who are likely to lose their home in the next 14 days, and people who are fleeing or trying to flee domestic violence but do not have any place to go are also added to the HUD homeless count. If someone is deemed homeless according to another federal law, that person also can be included. Those who otherwise have a residential roof over their heads may still be considered “unstably housed” if they must change locations frequently, or if they are doubled up in living situations intended for fewer individuals. They won’t be included in the HUD count, but volunteers are still looking to find out who they are, and what services they may need. According to Icilma Lewis, a case manager at Family of Woodstock’s New Paltz office, as of November there were 69 individuals in that agency’s system who have identified themselves as being homeless. That organization’s services are available in 24 communities around the region. 

According to Nordstrom, there will be events held at the Family locations in New Paltz and Ellenville, and at a location to be determined in Kingston which is being coordinated with county mental health workers. Law enforcement officers, who often know the locations where homeless individuals sleep, will also be canvassing with outreach workers. 

Scheduled events are a core component of this annual count, which means that it’s important to entice people to show up. Since this must occur during this winter period, offering food and warm clothing is part of the strategy. That scheduling decision poses challenges for canvassers; not only is this work difficult for volunteers, the weather can also result in homeless individuals finding temporary shelter in unexpected locations. If counting is rescheduled due to weather, there may not be as many volunteers available on the new date. 

According to Nordstrom, there is anecdotal evidence that homelessness is increasing in the county. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a visible population of homeless people on the street. In some communities, they find locations off the beaten path and out of sight. Visible homeless populations do result in heightened attention, but that attention can be negative. In some regions of the country, efforts to address homelessness are focused on moving people away from visible locations, in order to reduce complaints to elected officials about their presence. 

Kathy Germain, with the nonprofit CaresNY, acknowledged the challenge of locating and identifying both those who qualify for this count, and those others for whom services can be made available. Germain said that the effort involves establishing “as many ‘touch points’ as possible to try to engage and locate those living in places not meant for human habitation. A combination of service-based locations, events, and canvassing known locations provides the best opportunity to identify those living on the streets.” This includes not only shelters, but also places where people go for food and other aid, such as People’s Place and the Salvation Army. 

Germain added, “It is important to note that this is a HUD requirement only to count those in shelter, and unsheltered [at] one on point in time. It is the community’s decision . . . to increase awareness of services to expand the events to include those at risk of homelessness.” The HUD report only includes those who qualify, but all the information gathered is used to help those in need, whether presently homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. 

Several dozen volunteers are needed to complete this count in the time allotted. “We do generally get between 40-50 individuals that can assist in many ways; collecting and distributing food items, support events and provid[ing] donations,” Nordstrom confirmed. “Canvassing is generally conducted by street outreach, partnering with law enforcement.” 

Rhonda Garcia is one of the co-chairs of the planning committee, and acknowledges that including police officers in this effort has advantages and disadvantages. “Law enforcement can assist with known locations in the county,” and while they can provide a certain amount of safety to canvassers, Garcia has never known this to be necessary. They also may have built a rapport with particular individuals. “On the other hand, law enforcement carries a sense of hierarchy naturally that can be looked at as scary to folks who are homeless.” While issues like open warrants are set aside during the count activities, homeless people don’t necessarily know this, or believe that it’s true. Moreover, “it does open up the opportunity to locate folks on other days, learning the known locations and where people are staying. Law enforcement in this way can deter the canvassing team with connecting with homeless folks.” 

Some local officials are using the occasion of the count to call for a different approach to providing services and addressing the issue of homelessness. Stana Weisburd, a trustee in the New Paltz village government, has several suggestions. Most urgent among these is providing a second warming center in the southern part of the county, because traveling poses challenges. Not only is it costly, but for a homeless person to go to Kingston to warm up requires either bringing all their belongings, or finding a safe place to stash them. Personal possessions can be a hot-button issue. A couple of years ago Mary Ann Tozzi, then a business owner on Main Street in New Paltz, began complaining vociferously because a local police officer threw away a homeless person’s possessions that had been left outside of Tozzi’s storefront. At the time, Tozzi asserted that the police chief defended the officer’s actions as legal due to anti-littering laws, and briefly waged a campaign to get local officers to consistently pick up litter in the community. 

Weisburd is also working with others in the community to establish a trailer with showers and laundry facilities, that could be moved around the county on a regular schedule in the way that the DMV van is now. This is based on recognition that hygiene is a reason for negative reactions to homeless individuals, causing them to be unwelcome in public places such as libraries, among others. This effort would require not only the facilities, but finding locations with sanitary hookups. 

According to Garcia, the ideal volunteer for the count “is interested in engaging with homeless individuals, just talk with them, while doing the survey, make it more of a conversation, where then you can share whatever items have been put together to give out.” Local knowledge, and knowledge about where homeless people congregate, would also be helpful. 

The co-chairs for this year’s counting effort, Rhonda Garcia and Lisa McDonald, welcome inquiries from anyone who would like to help. Their email addresses are rhonda.garcia@cccsos.org and lmcdonald@rupco.org, respectively.