Homeless Count Taking Place in Alameda County

By Bay City News Service:

Volunteers in Alameda County are conducting a count of the local homeless population today.

EveryOne Counts! 2013 is designed to provide an estimate of how
many people are living without shelter or in emergency or transitional
housing in the county.

The county is required to conduct a tally of its homeless population every two years in order to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for homeless programs, county
officials said.

The count must be conducted during the last 10 days of January.

The most recent homeless count and survey in 2011 tallied 4,178 homeless people. In 2009, 4,341 homeless were counted. Two years earlier, 4,838 homeless people were tallied, indicating a steady decrease in the
homeless population in recent years, according to the county.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, Berkeley Councilman Jesse Arreguin, Alameda County Board of Supervisors president Keith Carson, and Ophelia Basgal, regional HUD administrator, will hold a news conference this afternoon to discuss the count.

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