Itasca County to take homeless count Jan. 25

Itasca County, along with five counties in the NE MN CoC, will be participating in the Annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count (PIT Count) the night of Wednesday Jan. 25, 2023.

The PIT Count is a nationwide initiative to identify the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness and to learn more about the needs of the community. This count provides a snapshot of Itasca County that will help our community understand trends and respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Itasca County in partnership with the NE CoC, will use information from surveys to help bring funding for services to Northeast Minnesota, so that help can be provided to families and individuals experiencing homelessness obtain housing services.

According to the office of Kootasca Community Action, the PIT Count captures the experiences and needs of our homeless population so that we can educate our community and improve services.

A cooperative team of area organizations, community groups, and public service agencies that directly and indirectly provide help to the homeless are involved in this particular project.

“Social Media has really helped in these efforts,” says Gail Beckman, Homeless Prevention Case Manager with Kootasca Community Action.

Itasca County has a Homeless Response System in place with the centralized access point starting with First Call 211, explained Beckman.

“As of yesterday, Itasca County has 69 households that identify as homeless. They are identified by completing an assessment with the housing specialist to determine if they are truly un-housed,” she said. “Of the 69 some are either in the GRACE House, sleeping in campers, vehicles and or doubled up. If a household is doubled up we do not identify them as homeless unless that are putting the lease holder at risk and only can stay a very short time. We do not count people living with family for a length of time.”

In the Point in Time Count we hope to survey all of these household and others that are currently not identified. We reach out to Law Enforcement, landlords, motels small town pubs and gas stations etc.

Volunteers will be surveying people who are in the following living situations on the night of Wednesday Jan. 25, 2023:

• Sleeping outside

• Staying in a shelter or emergency housing

• Staying in a hotel or motel paid for by an agency, program, or church organization

• Living in a vehicle, tent, camper, RV (with no hook ups), or abandoned building

• Living in a trailer, barn, shed or garage on a relative’s or friend’s property

• Living in home with no working utilities

• Temporarily living with relatives, friends, or others, or couch-surfing

If you know someone who is homeless or will be homeless on the night of; Wednesday Jan. 25, 2023. Contact any of the following: Call or text 218-256-9709, 218- 256-5245, 218-256-3644 First Call 211 at 218-326-8565 for information and referrals or to be connected to a survey site.