San Bernardino, CA – The 2018 San Bernardino County Point-In-Time Count (PITC) will focus on the data-driven strategy of engaging unaccompanied homeless women with resources and placing those who are identified as high-risk into immediate temporary housing.
“This year the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership (SBCHP), as part of its continuing efforts to align with the national and local goal of ending homelessness, will be engaging unaccompanied homeless women as part of the annual PITC,” said Tom Hernandez, Office of Homeless Services Officer. “This is an opportunity to immediately connect this target subpopulation with much needed resources and services and to help them locate and maintain permanent housing.”
On Jan. 25, the day of the count, all 24 cities and unincorporated areas within the county will be canvassed by a field team of volunteers including members of the public, community groups, county employees, homeless service providers, and private-sector stakeholders. Volunteers who are able to engage with homeless individuals will ask specific questions, offer hygiene kits and provide information on supportive services. Any unaccompanied woman identified as chronically homeless in the cities of Fontana, Redlands, San Bernardino, Victorville and Upland will be connected to an outreach team that will conduct an assessment to determine the chronicity and medical vulnerability of the individual. The homeless women identified at highest risk will be connected to social service providers and offered immediate temporary housing.
The annual count, coordinated by the San Bernardino County Office of Homeless Services (OHS) in conjunction with the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership (SBCHP), is designed to obtain an estimated number of homeless individuals and families in San Bernardino County on a given day and to discover their specific needs.
Individuals and organizations are invited to volunteer to participate in the count, which will be conducted on Thursday, Jan. 25 from 6 to 10 a.m. throughout San Bernardino County.
For more information or to register to be a volunteer, please visit www.sbcounty.gov/dbh/sbchp or call the OHS at (909) 386-8297 or email Michele.Bletcher@dbh.sbcounty.gov.
The OHS works to develop countywide public and private partnerships and to coordinate services and resources to end homelessness in San Bernardino County. Through this, OHS is helping to achieve the Countywide Vision by working to create a sustainable system of community health, public safety, and housing. Information on the Countywide Vision and OHS can be found at www.sbcounty.gov.
