Wednesday (today) was the day of the 2016 Point in Time (PIT) count of the number of homeless people in each locality.
The West Piedmont Better Housing Coalition (WPBHC) conducted the count and will release the results at a later date.
The PIT is a national survey that counts the homeless population across the United States. It serves many purposes, such as getting accurate numbers of people experiencing homelessness, identifying areas where homelessness is more prevalent, and identifying areas where large numbers of people are experiencing homelessness for the first time.
If you have information about people who are homeless, please contact one of the following agencies and individuals:
•In Martinsville and Henry County, contact Michael Harrison at the Community Fellowship; Tracie Correa at STEP (Support to Eliminate Poverty); or Warren Rodgers at Citizens Against Family Violence (CAFV).
•In Patrick County, contact Mandy Folman at STEP.
•In Franklin County, contact Brenda Manning at STEP.
•In Danville and Pittsylvania County, contact Candace Sparks at PCCA, Kim Reyell at STEP, or the Salvation Army.
When agencies apply for funding to assist with housing they use this data as a resource to show the need in each area. This applies to subsidized housing, homeless prevention, rapid rehousing, shelters, and new projects.
The 2015 PIT count showed that there were 132 homeless people in the West Piedmont region, 182 people likely to be homeless within the next seven days, and 215 children identified by the school systems as homeless.
In last year’s PIT count, Patrick County had 13 homeless people, 11 households considered homeless, and 13 homeless adults (no children listed).
