Mecklenburg County Begins Task To Count Homeless Population
I didn’t even know this existed. But did you know every year on the last Wednesday in January, Mecklenburg County leaders count the number of homeless people in the county? It’s called Point In Time Count.
It seems particularly important now that the pandemic has exposed one of Charlotte’s seemingly ugly secrets. At last count, officials say there are 2,000 people experiencing literal homelessness in Mecklenburg County. According to the Mecklenburg Housing Data website, ‘literal homelessness’ is defined as residing overnight in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing facility or in an unsheltered location unfit for human habitation.
Mecklenburg County leaders this year plan to ‘count’ differently because of COVID-19. Instead of walking around to get a count of the homeless, grassroots organizations are doing the county. Organizations like Roof Above will count the homeless in the county. They are hoping to capture as many people as people.
The end goal is to share the data they collect with the federal government whom they hope can provide housing assistance to get funding for the county.
The counting begins Wednesday, January 26, and will continue for the next two weeks. To volunteer or donate, contact www.charlottehousingdata.org.
