The survey scheduled for Jan. 23 to 29 is part of a county-wide initiative, coordinated by agencies and individuals who are members of the Siskiyou Homelessness Coalition.

Mt. Shasta will again be participating in a Point-in-Time Count of unsheltered homeless individuals and families from Jan. 23 to 29. The survey is part of a county-wide initiative, coordinated by agencies and individuals who are members of the Siskiyou Homelessness Coalition.

Mt. Shasta’s PIT count is being coordinated by Glenn Harvey and Kathy Morter, who will be working with volunteer teams to survey the downtown area in two-hour shifts, from 10 a.m. to noon and noon to 2 p.m. on Jan. 23 and 24. Required training will be conducted at a time when the majority of prospective volunteers are available, according to a press release.

Persons interested in volunteering should contact Harvey at glennharvey54@gmail.com or call 530-925-9287.

Coordinators are asking that if residents know of people who are unsheltered and willing to talk to volunteers to collect a bit of information about their living situation and histories of homelessness, they are asked to go to Berryvale’s cafe from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 23 and 24, where they will be greeted by either Harvey or Morter for an interview and be given meal vouchers.

Other options for people who are homeless to be interviewed include:

• The Mt. Shasta Community Resource Center at 109 E. Lake Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 23, 24, 28 and 29, or

• Harvey and Morter will respond to individual calls for interviews on Jan. 23, 24 and 25. They can be reached at 530-925-9287 or 925-9199.

Citizen volunteers will be joined by representatives from community-based organizations, public safety agencies, businesses and county public health agencies. The resulting survey data, collected from several Siskiyou County communities, will be used to help define the scope of homelessness throughout the county.

The data will be entered into a Homeless Management Information System database administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and used as the basis of eligibility for federal and state funds to support homeless people.

The organizers report that last year’s Siskiyou County PIT count yielded a total of 160 individuals, 19 of whom were counted in Mt. Shasta, resulting in over $100,000 made available in Siskiyou County.

A secondary but critical aim of this community outreach, as stated in the release, “is to build a more trusting relationship between community residents and those experiencing homelessness. Ultimately, the goal is to offer, on a case-by-case basis, services (once they are made available) to assist those who are unsheltered.”