Major efforts are underway at the local and state levels to end homelessness, and a special count is taking place locally Thursday to help.
The Point in Time or PIT Survey will start at 9 am at White Auditorium City Conference Room 1A and will end at the Emporia Rescue Mission. CrossWinds Counseling and Wellness Housing Specialist Joe Reed, a guest on KVOE’s Morning Show on Wednesday, says there will be a set list of questions designed for people who are homeless, not couch-surfing.
Couch-surfing residents will be the subject of a similar effort later.
Thursday will also see volunteers dropping off a limited number of cold-weather packs to homeless residents.
Reed has been working with both the statewide homeless coalition as well as Emporia’s Homeless Advisory Board and other partners like Bloom House Youth Services, Southwick House and others to eventually end homelessness locally. He says he’s excited to see the advisory board and the other local efforts underway.
This effort is part of the work underway through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Continuum of Care,” which is designed to offer funding to nonprofits and local government entities so they can “rehouse” homeless residents or people leaving domestic violence situations behind.
