Survey counts more than 500 homeless people in county
Aug. 11—A summer survey has counted 531 individuals as being homeless in Vigo County.
The survey found 140 people were unsheltered living on the streets or in abandoned homes, tents or vehicles. Another 391 people were staying in hotels, shelters, recovery houses or in housing programs for people who do not have housing, also known as transitional housing.
"I think the numbers could be a lot higher but we had a couple of setbacks on the day we did the survey. There were areas that we knew we needed to look but couldn't get that done," said Brendan Kearns, chair of the Homeless Council of the Wabash Valley and a county commissioner.
"The numbers that I would consider to be conservative are the unsheltered, but as far as the sheltered or those in transitional housing, those are very accurate," Kearns said, "because throughout the years we have been able to build a good communication system and identify where people are in programs."
The survey was conducted on July 27 with volunteers counting in shelters, hotels and transitional homes as well as in parks, wooded areas and in city streets. Homeless people were interviewed with a short survey to assess needs, with a goal of providing services and information to help them get out of a homeless situation.
On the day of the survey, Kearns said the county jail had 27 people incarcerated who are considered homeless.
"That fact that we had over 20 people in our jail who are classified as homeless is a big concern. That number is significantly higher than in past surveys, but also we could be doing a better job of identifying who is what situation," Kearns said.
Fewer people are staying along the Wabash River.
"The river areas are very transitional," Kearns said. "What you see is a gathering of people, maybe three or four people, but those groups break up. So a person I interacted with two weeks ago near a bridge near a river may not be the same individual if I were to follow up today.
"While the river is a place that seems to be attractive for homeless people, it is not what I consider a stable camp area," Kearns said. "So our traditional camp areas are gone and are moving around. We have found that sometimes when the word gets out that we are going to do a survey, they leave areas because they want to remain isolated.
"That is a tough thing to manage," Kearns said.
In 2021, the summer survey found 367 people counted as having no place to live. Numbers in 2020 were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in 218 people counted. However, in its first year in 2019, the summer survey revealed 566 homeless individuals.
Kearns said several people in the survey are those who have been counted in previous homeless counts, especially some veterans, who may find it difficult to remain in transitional housing. "The numbers are not necessarily new people but the survey finds the number of homeless on that day," he said.
Danielle Elkins, director of Bethany House and co-chair of the Homeless Council of the Wabash Valley, said "some people do not like authority and do not like rules and find it easier to do their own thing on the streets or in an encampment.
"And with some veterans they are skeptical of the government and do not want to deal with government-funded agencies," she said. "Several will come back (from military service) and don't trust the government and do not want to give their full names, or they may give their first name or a nickname, but do not want to give their Social Security number or answer some of the other questions we ask for in the survey," Elkins said.
"I am not surprised the number of homeless is up from last year," Elkins said. "I know how hard times are and I am surprised we don't have more. We like to do the summer count versus the (federally mandated) 'Point in Time' homeless count that we do in late January," Elkins said, adding it is likely more accurate.
Volunteers during the survey provided personal hygiene items provided by Mental Health America were distributed including bug spray, self care/harm reduction kits aimed at drug use provided by the Vigo County Health Department and IU Health-Positive Link. Other items included "Meals-Ready to Eat" or MREs.
Kearns said efforts from agencies such as Mental Health America and Reach Services, and others, are helping to provide homeless individuals housing and program assistance.
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward.
