COCONINO COUNTY — Representatives from area social service agencies were out in force recently to conduct the annual “National Street & Shelter Point-in-Time Count” from Jan. 28 through 30 of those who are homeless in Coconino County.
The goal of the program is to determine how many individuals are homeless in the county, allowing the county to receive federal funding to help address the issue. Funds will be dispersed to Pima and Maricopa County, with the rest of the funds to be divided among rural counties including Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, Apache, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Pinal, Yuma, La Paz and Yavapai.
This combined rural area accounted for nine percent of Arizona’s total homeless count, a total of 2,435 individuals, according to the Homelessness in Arizona 2013 Annual Report.
Statewide, nearly 28,000 adults and children experienced homelessness during 2013, according to the report.
The Arizona Daily Sun reported on Feb. 1, 2013 that Coconino County received a total $794,000 in 2012 with the funds allocated to programs in the county.
Volunteers were scheduled to receive training on Jan. 20, organizers reported.
“We are surveying individuals who were unsheltered on the night of Tuesday, Jan. 27. If you are an agency participating in this important effort, thank you! If you are an agency that has clients experiencing homelessness who want to partake in the PIT survey, please send them to the public locations where surveyors are standing by,” Leah Bloom, housing and grants administrator for the City of Flagstaff, reported in a media release.
The public locations included:
- The Flagstaff Library, 300 W. Aspen Ave., Flagstaff.
- The East Flagstaff Library, 3000 N. Fourth St., Suite 5, Flagstaff.
- Heritage Square in downtown Flagstaff,
- Flagstaff Family Food Center,1903 N. 2nd St., Flagstaff.