Homeless count, survey underway in Indio

Nearly 40 volunteers joined outreach workers and the Indio Police Quality of Life Team to hit the streets of Indio early Tuesday morning. They set out for the Homeless Point-In-Time Count.

Once a year volunteers across the county survey these men and women to gather insightful information about our desert’s homeless population such as where they slept the night before.

“We don’t ask for names, we ask for initials, date of birth and try to figure out through these questions mental illness, how long they’ve been homeless,” said Indio Housing Programs Manager Jesus Gomez.

The homeless count is required for organizations across the country, such as Martha’s Village & Kitchen in Indio, to get funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also gives them a better idea of how to allocate resources and effective services to people.

Volunteers also gave homeless individuals “goodie bags” with supplies.

“Food, water, a list of resources such as phone numbers they can call, a first aid kit, and bags of dog food,” said volunteer Cara Hander.

Gomez said volunteers met around 40 unsheltered individuals, a 56 percent decrease from the 92 people last year. They met one veteran. Reaching out to homeless veterans was a significant focus this year.

“Today we are doing something different compared to other years, if we encounter a veteran who is homeless we can link them to housing and other service providers on the spot,” said Gomez.

A count of sheltered homeless will be done on Thursday.