Annual count helps address Franklin County’s homeless crisis

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Before the sun came up Thursday morning, volunteers across Franklin County came together to take a step in addressing the housing crisis.

It’s called the Point-In-Time Count and it’s the count of every person experiencing homelessness in the county in a single day. It happens across the United States and it’s a way for the federal government and local leaders to gather more insight into how to address the housing crisis.

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The Community Shelter Board organizes the Point-In-Time Count and this year had a record number of volunteers: 318, which is almost 80 more than last year. For many of these volunteers, this work continues every day.

“Seeing folks in their camps and, you know, their makeshift tents sometimes can be eye-opening, but it’s a humbling experience,” Mount Carmel Lead Housing Outreach Specialist and Point-in-Time Count volunteer Ryan Jefferson said.

Jefferson and his group walked around downtown Columbus, counting and helping every person experiencing homelessness they could find. Jefferson has done this work for more than a decade.

“I think we all can agree that everybody deserves to have a home and going about trying to find that is sometimes tricky for folks,” Jefferson said.

Last year, the Point-In-Time Count recorded an all-time high of 2,380 people experiencing homelessness.

“The modeling, through our focus strategy’s assessment, really shows a 68% increase over the next three years unless there are significant investments and kind of additional resources put into affordable housing,” Community Shelter Board Chief Program Officer Steven Skovensky said.

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Volunteers ask questions to those they encounter to learn more about who is experiencing homelessness. There is also a big push to get people inside warming shelters, as the area braces for freezing weather this weekend.

“We’ve been encouraging people that have been engaged this morning to seek shelter in the warming centers,” Skovensky said. “We have the 24/7 drop-in, someone doesn’t have to call the homeless hotline beforehand if they want to walk in.”

While the count is just one day, for many of the volunteers, this work continues.

“There is a housing crisis. We have people who want to be in housing, but we just don’t have enough units for people,” Jefferson said.

Final numbers from this count are expected in April, after the data team sorts through all the responses.

For those seeking help, the hotline is 614-274-7000.

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