VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Local housing officials are asking for help with looking for areas in Virginia Beach, where people have been seen living without shelter.
Virginia Beach Housing and Neighborhood Preservation has extended its 2021 Point-in-Time Count from Jan. 27-31. This extension will help the city's Homeless Outreach Team to have more time to complete its street count.
“Since launching this tool in 2018, we have been able to identify dozens of locations that we were unaware of where people were living unsheltered,” said Pam Shine, Homeless Service System Manager. “Every year, we try to ensure that the count is as thorough as possible, and it may be more challenging to do that without the many volunteers that usually help with our street count. It will be more important than ever to have the public’s input so that we can enhance our outreach efforts and help ensure that everyone who should be included is counted and assessed for services."
The PIT Count is normally done around late January with the help of volunteer teams, but due to the pandemic, the city is lacking volunteer assistance.
Residents can submit different areas where they've seen unsheltered individuals living, directly from their mobile devices or computers to a map through Jan. 17, 2021. This should include specific dates and details of the situation.
Officials said a few signs that a person is living unsheltered can include personal belongings left behind, a structure resembling a bed is near or individuals have been seen there on various occasions.
The city's outreach team supports the needs of those experiencing homelessness and advised others to not engage the spotted individuals, as this is for visual observations only.
It's a requirement from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the cities that are federally funded for homeless programs to complete an unduplicated tally of the displaced community, according to city officials.
Every year a $2 million grant goes through the Continuum of Care to Virginia Beach to support homelessness. The PIT Count helps in determining the amount of this funding.
