Orange County Delays Homeless Counting Until End of February – Orange County Register

The post-holiday spike in COVID-19 infections prompted Orange County officials to push ahead with plans to conduct a homeless census from one month to the end of February.

To collect data on how many people live on the streets of Orange County, where they are and what help they may need, county staff, homeless advocacy groups and volunteers go to across the county to find people and ask them questions. Called timekeeping, it’s usually held every two years and is required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds many programs for people who are homeless or at risk. body becomes like that.

But – following the cancellation of the event in 2021 because of the pandemic – the current record high number of COVID-19 cases has prompted some Southern California communities to postpone the tally to protect everyone.

OC and Los Angeles County leaders announced Friday that they will delay until next month; Riverside County also plans to postpone, and Long Beach has decided to wait. San Bernardino County did not make an announcement Friday afternoon.

“It is clear that the safety and security of our employees, our partners, and most importantly, the people we will serve,” said Doug Becht, OC’s director of care coordination. Becht, OC’s director of care coordination.

With approval from HUD, Orange County will conduct a census of emergency shelters on February 21 and a street count from February 22 to 24. Teams go out. late at night and early in the morning to find where people are camping or have settled down. for the night.

Becht said his office worked closely with OC Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau to make the decision and also look at what neighboring counties are doing. The information collected during the timekeeping is used to help guide homeless policies, programs and spending.