San Mateo County count to bolster resources for homeless

In reporting to the community center at 2600 Middlefield Road for his own shift, County Manager Mike Callagy was encouraged to see so many contribute time to an effort he expects to refine the services available to the county’s homeless population. Callagy hoped volunteers would be able to speak with some of the homeless residents they encountered during the five-hour effort to not only get a more accurate count of the homeless population but also better understand their needs.

“This is really important for us to get boots on the ground and actually see how many people are living without shelter,” he said. “I’m so impressed to see all these people get up this early and who care so much about the community they live in.”

Nicole Pollack, the county’s Human Services Agency director, said county officials have been preparing for the point-in-time effort since July. Pollack said each of the more than 350 volunteers deployed to sites across San Mateo County Thursday morning went through a two-hour training aimed at defining homelessness, best practices for showing respect for those they encounter and using a smartphone application they can use to record information they collect.

Pollack said the effort began early in the morning to be able to capture the state of an individual’s nighttime residence, noting many of the county’s homeless population have full-time jobs and the time when they are sleeping can be a good time to do the count. Though volunteers don’t wake those who are sleeping, she said they may ask those who are awake and willing about their race, household and history of chronic homelessness or substance abuse, among other data.

Homeless shelters, agencies serving the homeless and law and code enforcement agencies log information the county’s homeless population on a countywide database, yet Pollack said the data collected during the count supplements the pool of information used to prioritize efforts to end homelessness in the county. She added the data is also required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a tool for determining funding for homelessness services.

“We have a strategic plan to end homelessness in this county and all of our partners are actively involved in developing strategies, looking at the data, realigning resources and sharing resources in order to complete that goal of ending homelessness,” she said.

Of the 160 census tracts San Mateo County volunteers covered Thursday, Pacifica resident Susan Takalo and Foster City resident Nadine Makki were assigned to a tract inclusive of downtown Redwood City and some surrounding streets. Both Takalo, who has worked at the Second Harvest Food Bank for 35 years, and Makki, who works at the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, have seen the number of residents affected by housing insecurity rise as the region’s cost of living has increased in recent years, and were eager to support an effort focused on the county’s housing population.

Having been deployed in Pacifica during previous counts, Takalo said she recommends the volunteer experience to anyone interested in part because it causes one to think about the daily challenges the homeless face. The pair was able to speak with one man during their shift, leading Takalo to wonder whether the rainfall ending just before the start of the count may have affected the number of individuals out and about that morning.

“I’m really worried,” she said. “Where did they go? Did we just not see them or are they somewhere out of the rain?”

As a therapist for San Mateo County Health’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Division, Christina Vasquez said she and Devin Aceret, who works for the county as a case manager, understand some of the challenges the county’s homeless population faces since they work with clients who are homeless. Vasquez also hoped volunteers’ presence could send a message to homeless individuals that they are important, valuable members of society and serve as a way of introducing them to those who can help.

Both Vasquez and Aceret served as volunteers during this year’s count, and looked to the effort to allow those who work with the county’s homeless population to continue to improve their services with their needs in mind.

“Being here at 5 a.m., I know that this is may be early for me,” said Aceret. “But I know that this is probably regular, every day for the people we’re working with day to day.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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