After canceling the homeless count in January 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Orange County officials are gearing up to take a census next month of how many people are unsheltered in the county.

The every-two-years “point in time” count is required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds a variety of programs to help people get under a roof or remain in their home. It also helps county officials figure out what kind of services are needed and where, Orange County spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said.

Part of getting ready for the count is getting volunteers lined up to fan out into the communities.

“This is hopefully a way you can help the county and policy makers find out where folks are so we can hopefully go in and make a difference,” Nichelson said.

The 2022 count will take place over several days starting Jan. 24, and it will require coordinated efforts from hundreds of volunteers. The county has hired City Net, a nonprofit that provides street outreach and other homeless services in more than a dozen cities, to orchestrate the count.

City Net is looking for about 650 volunteers to work late night or early morning shifts of about four hours.

Volunteering will include getting an assigned area, looking for homeless people in that area, mapping their locations on a mobile app and asking anyone willing to answer survey questions such as where they sleep, whether they’re currently working and what kinds of help they need. Volunteers may also help connect people with assistance on the spot when appropriate.

The 2022 count is critical for Orange County because it will offer the first apples-to-apples comparison with the data from 2019, when officials overhauled their strategy to get a more thorough, detailed survey.

“In every way that we can, we’re trying to be as consistent with the 2019 methodology as we can,” City Net Executive Vice President Matt Bates said.

Because the threat of COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, volunteers will be asked for proof of vaccination or a negative test before their shift, and they’ll need to wear a mask and observe social distancing out in the field, Bates said. Since volunteers normally go out to count in teams, City Net is hoping people who are already in the same “social bubble” – families, coworkers or friend groups – will sign up together.

Results from the last count in 2019 showed 6,860 unhoused people in Orange County, of which nearly 2,900 had some sort of emergency or transitional shelter. That appeared to be a notable increase – about 43% – from the 2017 tally, but at the time county officials cautioned against direct comparisons because of the change in methodology.

One big change since January 2019 is a significant number of temporary shelters have opened (shelter populations also will be counted). Bates said he anticipates the 2022 count may be higher than 2019, but that’s not necessarily discouraging.

“I expect the overall total to go up a little bit,” he said, but “my hope is that actually the unsheltered count will either be holding steady or going down.”

Hour-long information sessions for volunteers will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23, and 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, and they’ll also be recorded so people can watch them later.

Find more details on helping with the point in time count or register as a volunteer at everyonecountsoc.org. Send questions to [email protected].

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