SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento organization is postponing its plan to conduct its Point-In-Time (PIT) survey to see how many people are experiencing homelessness due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the county.
Sacramento Steps Forward (SFF), the organization that conducts the count, originally planned to conduct the count Jan. 26 - Jan 27.
The new dates set for the count are between Feb. 23 - 24.
“Out of concern for the safety of our unhoused residents, volunteers and staff, moving the PIT count to Feb. 23-24 is a prudent approach,” Lisa Bates, chief executive officer for SSF, said in a press release. “Getting a full and accurate count is absolutely critical to us in determining effective responses as well as the level of future state and federal resources needed.”
The results from the count will likely be released by early summer.
While the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the PIT count every two years, it didn't take place in 2021 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteers who conducted the homeless count 2019 learned there were about 5,570 people experiencing homelessness within Sacramento County on any given night, a 19% increase from the 2017 count.
Arturo Baiocchi, a researcher from California State University, Sacramento, previously told ABC10 the number of tents in Sacramento County could have potentially doubled since the count in 2019.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering to help out with the PIT could apply by clicking here.
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