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Montgomery County Joins Nation in Homeless Assessment Count on Jan. 31. Councilmember George Leventhal Will Be Among Volunteers to Count and Interview County’s Homeless to Help Determine What Programs Could Work Best |
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| ROCKVILLE, Md., January 29, 2013—Montgomery County Government employees, those who work with the nonprofit community and many volunteers will join together in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 31, to help the County meet its obligation to count all of the homeless in the jurisdiction and assess their needs. Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal, who chairs the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee, will be among the many volunteers who will gather at 5 a.m. to help with the biennial assessment. The information collected will be part of the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) prepared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and delivered to the U.S. Congress. The report focuses on the extent and nature of homelessness in America. The report provides nationwide estimates of homelessness, including information about the demographic characteristics of homeless persons, service use patterns and the capacity to house homeless persons. HUD requires communities receiving Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Grant funding to complete an annual report on the homeless using sheltered facilities and biennial report that includes those living in unsheltered facilities. That count must be done on a single night during the last 10 days of January. The information contributes to the AHAR, which has been compiled for each of the past seven years. Montgomery County volunteers will seek to count the homeless that live in shelters, on the streets and in unusual places such as wooded areas or in parked cars. They also will check with motels that might rent on a weekly basis. “Data on the homeless is difficult to collect, but this assessment provides the best available measurement of the number of the homeless in our community. The collection method is consistent across cities and counties. It helps us determine whether the local programs we fund to help the homeless are working,” said Councilmember Leventhal. “Our County is committed to reducing the prevalence of homelessness, with the ultimate goal of placing homeless residents in permanent housing and better lives overall – eventually eradicating homelessness altogether.” HUD defines homeless as persons who are sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, sleeping in emergency shelters or living in transitional housing after having come from a shelter. The counts produce valuable information. Those counting will also seek to ask the homeless a series of questions, including how long they have been homeless, whether they have served in the military, their age and the reasons for their homelessness. This information helps nonprofits and social service agencies better target their services. A family with children that has been homeless for a few months has different problems than a single man who has been homeless for years. “Not only will our County learn a lot through this assessment, I am counting on learning more about the homeless in Montgomery,” said Councilmember Leventhal. “I will bring what I learn back to my colleagues so we can make better decisions to help these people in need.” # # # # |
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