Volunteers Needed for the 2011 One Night Count of Unsheltered Homeless Persons

It is time again for dedicated community members to brave a wet January night and explore the Eastside to gather a count of homeless community members who are without shelter. The annual count is sponsored by the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness and happens throughout King County and the nation on the same night.

The count is completed to provide information to service providers; funders; and local, state and national government about the status of homelessness in our communities. This invaluable information is utilized to design effective interventions and gather resources to fund them.  The community wide goal is to end homelessness in 10 years.  This is the Eastside's 7th year of participation in the King County Count.

Please join for an adventure that also serves your community. Count volunteers will gather at the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue (1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue 98004) at 1:30 am on Friday, Jan. 28. Team leaders will provide training on safety and count procedures. Teams of 4 to 6 people will then head to specific count areas throughout Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland and count the homeless individuals and camps that are found. Teams return to the church no later than 5:00 am to turn in their numbers and have a hot breakfast!

Please RSVP to Meghan Altimore at meghana@hope-link.org.  There is more information on the King County One Night Count at http://www.homelessinfo.org/onc.html.