Throughout Eastern Oregon — in fact, throughout all of the United States — community agencies and volunteers are gearing up this week for a vital bit of business.

And they’re going about it with the full knowledge that the work they do will be incomplete.

Wednesday, Jan. 24 is the day this year designated for the annual Point-in-Time count, an exercise meant to answer one question about one night in the United States: How many people were homeless on that night?

Last year, across the nation, the official answer was about 653,100. Of those, about 60% were experiencing what’s called “sheltered homelessness” — that is, they were staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing or a safe haven program. The other 40% were unsheltered. The 2023 number represented a 12% increase over 2022 and was the highest figure since reporting began in 2007.

In Oregon, the number was 20,142.

And the number is almost assuredly an undercount.

For example, it doesn’t count people who might be couch-surfing. It includes people living in their cars only if a volunteer happens to stumble upon them on the night of the count.

Agencies in some Eastern Oregon counties like Wallowa don’t have the resources to send Point-in-Time volunteers out into the chilly night searching for people who are unsheltered; instead, they hold resource fairs with free hot lunches and stashes of vital supplies such as sleeping bags. The hope is that the homeless will come to these fairs and connect with agencies that can provide needed services.

Last year in Wallowa County, no homeless person came to the resource fair.

Community Connection, the agency charged with organizing the Point-in-Time count in Wallowa County, wasn’t fooled: Its workers know full well that people in the county are unsheltered.

They just didn’t come to the fair, for whatever reason. Maybe they were leery of the stigma that still is attached to homelessness. Maybe they didn’t have transportation. Maybe they just didn’t hear about the fair.

If you know of someone who’s homeless or who is in danger of possibly becoming homeless, you’d be doing them a service to spread the word about the count and the Wallowa County resource fair. Participation in the count is completely confidential. Community Connection can figure out a way to transport people to the fair. (See the sidebar for details.) The free hot lunch is appealing. And the term “resource fair” isn’t a misnomer: The event is packed with representatives of programs that can make a real difference in the lives of people who are unsheltered.

The numbers generated by the Point-in-Time count, flawed as they may be, are important for another reason: They help determine how funding is allocated for programs that seek to battle homelessness.

That’s part of the reason why community agencies and volunteers across Oregon and the nation volunteer for this work: Getting a more accurate count is an essential piece of the struggle to find solutions.

In the final analysis, the count is more than just a number. Imperfect as it is, it helps us understand the urgency of the need in each community across the nation. It’s a call to action.

WALLOWA COUNTY RESOURCE FAIR

Here are details about Wallowa County’s Resource Fair, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 24:

When: 1-3 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 24.

Where: Community Connection, 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.