Stalled by Pandemic, Pasadena’s Annual Homeless Count Now Scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday

After a cancellation in 2021 due to the Coronavirus, the city is ready to conduct its homeless count starting Tuesday.

Volunteers making up teams of three to four people will be sent out from 8 to 10 p.m. on Feb. 22 and 6 to 8 a.m. on Feb. 23 to help count and administer a survey to our neighbors experiencing homelessness.

The homeless count normally collects data from people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered and sheltered locations during the annual Point-in-Time Count within the last 10 days of January as mandated by HUD.

Last month, the city’s Department of Housing requested an exception from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order to move the city’s county to late February due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

The Homeless Count measures the prevalence of homelessness in Pasadena on a single night.

“Housing Department staff responsible for overseeing the Homeless Count, along with our Homeless Count Coordinator Dan Davidson, have worked closely with Pasadena Public Health Department staff for the past several months to ensure that the count is conducted safely,” said  Jennifer O’Reilly-Jones. “After canceling the count in 2021 due to the pandemic, we postponed the 2022 count from its original dates in late January to the last week of February in light of the omicron surge.”

“Although the Homeless Count is conducted outdoors, the homeless population is considered to be highly vulnerable to serious illness from COVID-19 due to high rates of underlying health conditions. We have put multiple safety measures in place to protect all participants and to mitigate the risk of volunteers exposing our unhoused neighbors to the virus. We are requiring all volunteers to take a rapid COVID-19 antigen test within 24 hours of their volunteer shift. The City has provided volunteers with these tests as well as N95 masks. Volunteers will also have N95 and surgical masks available to distribute to people experiencing homelessness throughout the count. Volunteers will also be distributing hygiene kits, hats, gloves, socks, and hand warmers while they canvas the City and administer the Homeless Count survey.”

To collect the figures for the “unsheltered” count, community volunteers and professional outreach teams survey people sleeping outdoors, on the street, in parks and vehicles, and other areas.

The “sheltered” count uses client-level data entered into the database used by homeless service providers to collect information on people who are staying in temporary shelter locations, including congregate emergency shelters, transitional housing, and hotels or motels.

People who are living doubled-up with family or friends or who are ‘couch surfing’ are not included in the count, as the HUD considers these individuals to be at-risk of homelessness and not literally homeless.

The data we collect during the Homeless Count give us a snapshot of what homelessness in Pasadena looks like on a single night. It is the primary data source the City uses to inform its strategic planning for homeless services, although not the only data source.

“The Homeless Count data is particularly useful in highlighting demographic trends such as which age groups are falling into homelessness at the highest rates,” O’Reilly-Jones said. “We have learned from recent counts that the majority of people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena are long-time residents of the city, often having resided here for decades before losing their home.”

Volunteers are required to follow COVID-19 guidelines during the count.

•  All volunteers will be provided with an N95 mask

•  All hygiene kits distributed during the unsheltered count will contain N95 masks and surgical masks (previously only surgical masks).

• All volunteers will be required to take a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of the count, which will be provided by the City.

• Any volunteer who has begun a period of quarantine or isolation within the ten days prior to the count will not be permitted to participate.

On the night of the 2020 Homeless Count, from January 21 to 22, there were a total of 527 people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena, which remains relatively unchanged from the 542 people recorded in 2019.