PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Montgomery County is looking for volunteers to help out with an annual count of people experiencing homelessness.
The yearly point-in-time, or PIT, count measures street homelessness.
"It helps us understand the breadth of homelessness in our county and to engage with people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as well as anyone currently in any emergency shelter in Montgomery County," said Kayleigh Silver, administrator with the Montgomery County Office of Housing and Community Development.
Homelessness may not be as visible in the suburbs as it is in the city, but it still exists, which is why Silver said they need volunteers "to find people who are often sleeping in condemned buildings, abandoned buildings, stairwells, their cars and other places that are a bit more hidden."
Volunteers can sign up through Jan. 1. There will be an online training session the week of Jan. 10, and the count will take place Jan. 25 from 6 to 10 p.m.
Silver added the PIT count is a way to "engage with people and talk directly with people who are experiencing homelessness, and help fight back against that stigma of homelessness."
"Between Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic and rising rents in Montgomery County, people experiencing homelessness are just like you and me," she added. "They have fallen on hard times."
Officials emphasize it's important to get as accurate a count as possible.
The count did not occur in January 2021 due to COVID-19.
