Baltimore’s homeless population analyzed as city leaders seek solutions
By Ashley Paul
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore leaders and volunteers are out on the streets compiling data to combat the city’s homelessness crisis.
The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services, along with the Baltimore City Continuum of Care, other city leaders, and more than 200 volunteers are surveying people experiencing homelessness.
The goal of the point-in-time count, also known as PIT count, is to use that information to best distribute city and state resources to help these people efficiently.
“We know that Baltimore City is a city of resilience and heart, and when we come together we can see real change,” said Tara Taylor, with the Baltimore City Continuum of Care.
More work to be done
Even though Baltimore’s homeless population is down 30% over the last five years, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says too many people are seeking shelter on the city streets.
“We are here because we truly care about our most vulnerable neighbors and those who are experiencing homelessness,” Scott said.
Collecting feedback
The PIT count involves the volunteers breaking into groups and seeking unhoused people throughout the city to survey them in a dignified manner about how they ended up in their situation.
“It’s been very cold and people that are out on a January night like tonight really have not many options,” volunteer Sherwin Brown said. “So it’s absolutely necessary for them to know that the city is looking after them and doing their best to make sure that they have the resources to get housed.”
The volunteers were out until 11 p.m. on Sunday and will return Monday night to collect information for the city to compile and analyze.
“The feedback that we will collect from engaging and surveying our unsheltered neighbors gives us a glimpse into the struggles they face every single day and allows us to advocate for change in the form of funding, housing, individualized support of services and other vital resources,” Mayor Scott said.
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