ALACHUA COUNTY- Homeless people are surveyed every year in Alachua County near the end of January.

It’s all part of the efforts of the Alachua County Homeless Coalition to try and better service that part of the community.

Last year they counted 21 hundred homeless people in their census which was considerably more than in 2011.

Volunteers from direct service organizations this year are making sure that surveys are reaching their intended targets.

Homeless Coalition Director, Jack Donovan explains,“It’s called the Point in Time Survey it’s a census of all the homeless people in our region. It includes maybe 500 homeless people that are actually sheltered in emergency shelter or transitional housing."
 

Because many homeless people in the county don’t have permanent addresses, the Coalition hired more than 200 homeless volunteer guides to help locate known camp areas.

The aim is to gather figures and information to better serve the homeless with things  like health care, rehab, shelters, veteran’s services, and meals.