Agencies Begin Count Of Homeless In Wisconsin This Week

Community action agencies across Wisconsin are gearing up for a physical count of the homeless this week.

The homeless point-in-time count happens every January and July as mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In January, there were 6,000 people counted across the state.

This count comes when many homeless advocates say the population’s numbers are continuing to rise. Robyn Thibado, the associate director for West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, said despite a growing economy, the recovery isn’t impacting those in poverty.

“Homelessness is up 17 percent since 2010,” she said. “It is not going down. So, 61 percent of those folks who were homeless in 2014 were newly homeless.”

Thibado said the numbers don’t even tell the whole story because some shelters, specifically those for domestic abuse victims, don’t report to HUD.

The point-in-time count runs from 10 p.m. on Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.