16th annual National Homeless Street and Shelter Count to begin Jan. 25
The McHenry County Continuum of Care for the Homeless will participate in the National Street and Shelter Point-in-Time Count on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The McHenry County CoC is a group of representatives from area agencies, organizations and businesses that work together to combat homelessness in McHenry County. CoCs are required to conduct a sheltered and an unsheltered count during the last 10 days of January 2017.
This "point-in-time" countywide survey has been done in January for the last 15 years. The outcomes from the data collected provide a better view into the housing inventory needs, demographics and to better understand the needs of the population so that services can be available that can reduce and help the number of homeless persons in the County.
This 16th annual count of McHenry County's homeless individuals and families will be conducted over a 24-hour time period covering Wednesday, Jan. 25 through Thursday, Jan. 26.
Committee members from the CoC will be visiting locations such as shelters, train stations, libraries, and at other locations where people that are homeless may access supportive services or just have a place to stay out of the elements.
Individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness are encouraged to take a survey, participants will receive a goody bag for their time.
Information and forms for the homeless count can also be provided to: food pantries, outreach programs, churches, police departments and other agencies, organizations or to other volunteer groups.
Current list of Continuum of Care members include: Association for Individual Development, Arms of Love, Catholic Charities, Community Action Agency/Head Start, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Crystal Lake Bank & Trust, Crystal Lake Food Pantry, Family Alliance Inc., Family Health Partnership Clinic, Habitat for Humanity, Home of the Sparrow Inc., Lake County Residential Development Corp., Lovell Federal Healthcare Center, McHenry County Attainable Housing, McHenry County College, McHenry County Crisis - Centegra, McHenry County Department of Transportation, McHenry County Housing Authority, McHenry County Mental Health Board, McHenry County Planning & Development, McHenry County Sheriff's Office, McHenry County Workforce Development Network, McHenry Savings Bank, McHenry Township, New Life Transitions, PADS Lake County, Pioneer Center/PADS, Prairie State Legal Services, Regional Office of Education (Lake and McHenry), Restoration America Inc., Rich Ring, Ronald Ecklund, The Salvation Army, The Aarrk, Thresholds, Transitional Living Services, Turning Point, and Vets Assistance Commission.
If your group would like to participate in the annual Point and Time Count or get involved in the Continuum of Care, contact Sam Tenuto, co-CEO of Pioneer Center for Human Services, at (815) 344-1230 or www.pioneercenter.org, or Charles Sprague, executive director of New Life Transitions, at www.newlifetransitions.org.