PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Teams of volunteers roamed Philadelphia’s neighborhoods Wednesday night and Thursday morning to get an idea of just how many people in the city are experiencing homelessness. The annual point-in-time count is required by the federal government.
Broad Street Ministry in Center City was home base for organizers and the hundreds of volunteers. City and federal officials addressed the first volunteers late Wednesday night before they broke into 30 groups and went out in the rain from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Separate groups of volunteers then started the youth count, focused on those under the age of 25, at around 6 a.m. Thursday.
Alyssa Weinfurtner, associate director of emergency services for the nonprofit Valley Youth House, said counting younger people who are experiencing homelessness has traditionally been difficult because, in many cases, they are “hiding in plain sight.”
“It’s not necessarily a linear issue. They may be unsheltered one night, couch surfing the next, and so it’s really — they’re piecemealing it together, kind of, where they’re staying,” Weinfurtner said. “Some folks wouldn’t even necessarily define themselves as ‘homeless.’ They’re just so used to going from house to house to house.”
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Some of the volunteers were staffers with The Attic Youth Center, which provides resources for members of the LGBTQ community.
“Our youth are at very high risk, even greater risk, than other youth for becoming homeless or being insecurely housed,” said Terese Parisi, the center’s director of development. “Youth are very good at kind of blending into the background and making sure they kind of don’t look homeless.”
A number of people who helped with the count say they have experienced homelessness themselves.
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“I deal with it right now, a little bit, myself like on and off — chill, trying to find places to lay my head,” said Antwan Robinson, who was hoping his experiences might help him connect with people his group would come across during the count.
“Hear about their stories, their background, what they’re going through, and make them feel comfort as well and let them know there are people in the same position.”
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires cities to conduct point-in-time counts to help determine the amount of funding and resources to allocate. A spokesman with Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services said it could take months to process the data and for HUD to certify the results.