Annual Homeless Point-in-Time Count

The Mid-Alabama Coalition for the Homeless (MACH) is conducting its annual homeless point-in-time count on the evening of Tuesday, January 24, 2017.  The count is required for local community agencies to receive McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  A point-in-time count is an unduplicated count on a single night of the people in a community who are experiencing homelessness, including both sheltered and unsheltered populations.

During the annual January enumeration, MACH volunteers and staff members canvass the streets of Montgomery in search of unsheltered homeless individuals and families. Teams of volunteers target different areas of the City where the homeless are known to congregate and conduct interviews with each person to determine their background and needs. The teams also distribute food, hygiene items, blankets, and coats to those encountered on the streets. Teams will leave from Friendship Mission West on Mobile Highway at 4pm and work until approximately 8pm.

“The point-in-time count is an important tool in helping MACH and its members reach homeless persons in our area and gauge the success of our programs,” said Molly Stone, Executive Director of the Mid-Alabama Coalition for the Homeless.  “This annual snapshot of the homeless population is an opportunity to identify needs and gaps in our local homeless assistance system.”

In January 2016, MACH volunteers found 74 unsheltered individuals on the streets of Montgomery.  An additional 786 individuals stayed in local shelters and housing programs on the night of the January 2016 count, for a total of 860 homeless men, women, and children in the River Region on any given night.