URBANA, Ill. (WAND)- Champaign County will be conducting its annual count of people experiencing homelessness within the County on Thursday, Jan. 28.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the Champaign County Continuum of Services Providers to the Homeless, mandates the Point-in-Time survey allowing homeless service providers to track progress made towards ending homelessness in the community.
Since July, the CSPH has added six new members, bringing the number of organizations involved to 35.
"Our management of federal dollars from the CARES Act allowed us to bring in several first-time grantees to expand or start new programs," said CSPH Coordinator Thomas Bates.
"The coordination of a workgroup to discuss shelter clients in Champaign County made it possible to connect those individuals and families to appropriate eligible homeless housing opportunities."
Within the past year, the CSPH has partnered with the Housing Authority of Champaign County to provide a temporary preference into permanent housing vouchers for HUD homeless households who have been utilizing emergency shelter.
The data collected from the Point-in-Time count will track the needs of people experiencing homelessness and determine how to distribute the federal funding effectively.
The Point-in-Time counts both sheltered (residing in an emergency or transitional housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness) and unsheltered (living in spaces not meant for human habitation, such as cars or on the street) people.
The 2021 Point-in-Time count in Champaign County will take place starting at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28.
Nearly 30 volunteers are currently signed up to help search throughout the community for individuals and families experiencing homelessness while gathering information about their housing situations.
All volunteers are required to follow COVID-19 guidelines and social distancing practices provided by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.
As of 2020, 140 homeless individuals (128 sheltered in emergency shelter or transitional housing and 12 unsheltered) were identified in Champaign County.
