Census Thoughts

News on the Street 1/26/13

 

               Well it’s finally happened, the bi-annual homeless census. I’ll not get too carried away with my observations of how the census went until I have an opportunity to speak with more of the people involved both on the census agency side as well as finding out how many homeless people were actually seen and their experience.

               I truly understand the reasoning behind taking a census of the homeless people here in Tarrant County. Being able to know how many homeless people are living in the shelters, how many are under bridges, in doorways, abandoned buildings or in camps scattered around the county can help the various agencies involved an idea of where best to focus their energy depending on what that agency may specialize in.

               The numbers and various demographics of the homeless living in the 3 major shelters in Ft. Worth and a few others in and around Tarrant County do not substantially change much. They all have a certain number of bed spaces available and the demographics of the homeless people whether they need MHMR services, substance abuse services, job assistance services and so on do not change substantially. That group of homeless people is a known quantity in the equation used by the various homeless agencies.

               The homeless people I am more concerned about are the ones who are somewhat less than visible or do not come under the umbrella of living in the shelters. I am one of these people. We live under bridges, in doorways, in abandoned buildings, in tents, even on a friends couch. By some definitions we are known as un-sheltered homeless. This is where the homeless census becomes extremely critical. First and foremost how do you go about finding these people?

               There are a couple of organizations here in the county who actively go out and find these people. They are pretty good at what they do. They don’t on the other hand have the resources or the manpower to adequately serve this class of homeless. One reason is that in the past the reported numbers of unsheltered homeless in my opinion has been grossly under reported and the few organizations trying to help simply can not meet the need.

               Once I see the totals from this latest census I’ll have a better understanding of whether the unsheltered homeless will be considered in any future planning by the overseeing agencies. In the past they have not. This I know. How about from this point forward?