Annual Sonoma County Homeless Count Begins Tonight

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- Volunteers with the Sonoma County Community Development Commission are conducting a count of the county's homeless population on the night of Jan. 26 and on Friday, Jan. 27.

The count includes a shelter and institutional count on Jan. 26, and street counts of all census tracts in Sonoma County on Friday.

The 150 volunteers and homeless people paid to take part in the county are expected to meet at 6 a.m. Friday at one of the five deployment centers, then teams will canvass the streets on foot or by car. A special effort, the volunteers say, will be made to count adolescent and teenage homeless youth.

This year's count is also expected to include a survey of about 600 homeless people over the following two weeks. Final results of the count are expected in May.

The homeless count is funded by about $3.1 million in federal grants Sonoma County receives annually through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Last year's count identified 2,906 homeless people, with about a third were sheltered in emergency shelters or transitional housing. Two-thirds were unsheltered and living on the street, in abandoned buildings, cars or vans or encampment areas.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock