PENDLETON — Every year on a cold day in January, an important count takes place in Oregon.

Community organizations across the state and nation take part in the Point-in-Time count — an annual tally of people experiencing homelessness on one specific night. This year’s count is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 24, and agencies throughout the nation — and in Eastern Oregon — that provide services to the homeless are drawing up final plans.

Earlier this month, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek made reference to the 2023 count, which reported more than 20,000 homeless people in Oregon. (Nationally, the number of homeless people reported on the night of the count in 2023 was 653,100.)

Information from the count can help policymakers as they determine how to funnel funds to programs battling homelessness.

In Eastern Oregon, officials say the count helps communities get a sense of how the issue of homelessness is playing out locally.

Umatilla County

In Umatilla County, the Point-in-Time count stretches out over two days, said Claudia Limon of CAPECO, the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon.

On the evening of Jan. 24, CAPECO will send teams to shelters and places in Pendleton which the city has designated as “right-to-rest” locations — places where people legally can sleep outside — to count people who are homeless. The next day, Jan. 25, a team will attend the lunch served at the Salvation Army in Pendleton to count additional people who are homeless. (There, the question asked will be “Where did you sleep last night?”)

At some locations, such as Pendleton’s Promise Inn, which includes a homeless shelter, people who stay overnight on the 24th will automatically be included in the Point-in-Time count, Limon said.

“It’s important for our communities to know why we do this,” she said. “It’s very important to me to have an unduplicated count and an accurate count for the community to know what the need really is out there.”

Volunteers for the CAPECO effort will be using Counting Us, an app designed for use with the Point-in-Time count.

Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa counties

Community Connection of Northeast Oregon conducts the counts in Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa counties during the organization’s annual Houseless Resource Fairs, according to Assistant Director Jeff Hensley and Emergency Program Manager Rebekah Martin.

At each of the resource fairs, all scheduled for Jan. 24, Community Connection will be providing free hot lunches and handing out supplies, including backpacks, sleeping bags, coats and hygiene items.

“These resources are specific to those who are living on the streets or do not have a safe place to lay their head at night,” Martin said.

The fairs are not only a chance to distribute supplies and some hot food, but also provide opportunities to connect people who are experiencing homelessness with community resources. Representatives from a variety of organizations set up tables and are available to talk during the fairs.

Martin said that the resource fairs also are opportunities to build relationships and trust with people experiencing homelessness.

“We are here to help you in any way we can without holding you hostage,” she said. “Getting them to come in, see what we have, see who we are, helps build that relationship,” she said. “So, they may not ask for assistance during that time, but it’s the seed that’s placed.”

When people come in for the resource fairs, Community Connection will ask them to fill out the Point-in-Time survey. Officials emphasized that the survey is confidential.

“And that’s the only thing we’re asking from them,” Hensley said. “Help us fill this out to show the state and the government that we have an issue.”

Anyone who Community Connection is helping shelter through hotel vouchers on Jan. 24 is also tallied in the Point-in-Time count. Surveys will also be available at the Union County Warming Station.

Funding

Officials said the Point-in-Time effort is critical in part because funding for programs to address homelessness depends on the count.

“The numbers that come out of this are part of the funding formula that we get for our regular funding to help the homeless and low income. So, it’s very important to have an accurate count,” Hensley said.

As the number of people experiencing homelessness in the area increases, so does the funding received by local organizations such as Community Connection and CAPECO.

“That funding does go directly to the homeless population,” Martin said. “It is very strictly regulated.”

Challenges

The Point-in-Time count shows the official number of people experiencing homelessness in a specific area on one specific night, but people involved with the effort say it’s an undercount.

This is especially true in Eastern Oregon, where rural and frontier environments can create specific challenges. Hensley said that even the date of the Point-in-Time count can pose a challenge throughout the region.

“They’re hard to find because most of them aren’t outside because they’d freeze to death,” he said.

Martin added that it can also be a struggle to get the word out to homeless populations that the resource fairs and the Point-in-Time count are taking place.

“We can do what we can do — put flyers out, get articles out, get radios up — but if they’re out camping somewhere, they’re not going to hear about it,” Martin said.

Community Connections workers commit significant effort toward raising awareness about the Point-in-Time count, according to Baker County Community Connection’s manager Joe Hayes. Employees travel locally to put fliers where they might see parked bikes, shopping carts and tent encampments.

“If you know of somebody who is struggling with homelessness, let them know. Send them our way, help them, drive them up there if you have that relationship,” Martin said. “Please send them to us, so we can get an accurate count. So we can assist.”

RESOURCE FAIR DATES

All resource fairs will be held Wednesday, Jan. 24.

Baker County

1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

2810 Cedar St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Free transportation is available.

Call 541-523-7433.

Can’t make it? Call 541-523-6591 to be counted.

Grant County

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

142 NE Dayton St., John Day, OR 97845.

Free transportation options are available.

Call 541-575-2370 for routes and times.

Can’t make it? Call 541-575-2949 to be counted.

Union County

2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

1504 N. Albany St., La Grande, OR 97850.

Free transportation is available.

Call 541-963-2877.

Can’t make it? Call 541-963-7532 to be counted.

Wallowa County

1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

702 NW First St., Enterprise, OR 97828.

Free transportation is available.

Call 541-426-3840.

Can’t make it? Call 541-426-3840 to be counted.