Riverside County agencies completed a “sheltered only” homeless survey in lieu of a comprehensive count, and the results are due out in April, officials said today.
The Board of Supervisors decided last May to shift to biennial Point-In-Time Surveys , which involve canvassing all possible locations where homeless people may be trying to live, outdoors and indoors.
The next comprehensive count is slated for January 2025. However, the county Department of Housing & Workforce Solutions, in concert with other agencies, went ahead with a sheltered PIT, and according to Executive Office spokeswoman Brooke Federico, that entailed visiting “all (homeless) shelters to measure occupancy.”
The census was conducted on Wednesday countywide, she told City News Service.
The final results are expected to be processed and published toward the end of April.
“While we are not conducting an unsheltered count in 2024, we are intensifying our response to homelessness based on the data and knowledge acquired through the 2023 count, along with previous counts,” Housing & Workforce Solutions Director Heidi Marshall said. “We remain as committed as ever to addressing this crisis and amplifying our efforts to support those in need.”