Contact: Pearl Wolfe, Supervisor, Lane County Human Services Commission 541-682-4629, pearl.wolfe@co.lane.or.us
On January 27, 2010 the Human Services Commission, Lane County’s anti-poverty program, along with its community partners, counted 3,971 homeless people. These include homeless community members on the streets, under bridges, in parks, at food pantries, day access centers, churches, emergency shelters, transitional housing and other locations.
More than 100 staff and volunteers from 23 agencies (including 92 programs) led the most comprehensive One Night Homeless Count (ONHC) to date. Unique to the 2010 Count was the inclusion of homeless liaisons who counted homeless students and their families in both the metropolitan and rural school districts. Their participation added 919 individuals to the count. In addition, increased participation from the Food for Lane County pantries added to rural area numbers.
One Night Homeless Count Highlights:
- 607 homeless families
- 1,215 chronically homeless individuals
- 317 homeless veterans
- 2,541 unsheltered people
“We work harder each year to capture the most accurate snapshot in time of our homeless population and these numbers are alarming,” said Pearl Wolfe, Human Services Commission Supervisor. “The ONHC is a community education tool which demonstrates the magnitude of this social issue locally. It helps us to speak on behalf of homeless individuals and families as we share their numbers.”
Innovative local efforts to change conditions for people who are homeless include the Egan Warming Center and Project Homeless Connect. These projects demonstrate the community’s ability to have a positive impact on homeless people’s lives. The Egan Warming Center, with the aid of more than 400 volunteers, provided 1,551 shelter beds at five faith-based sites this winter season.
“This snapshot in time only paints part of the picture of homelessness locally,” said Wolfe. “Annual figures show that 11,513 households who sought services from local programs were homeless at some point during the year.”
The one-night count takes place across the state of Oregon each January. It provides a snapshot of the problem of homelessness to help policymakers target resources to the areas of the state experiencing the greatest need.
One-night counts are required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development which provides funding for housing and services to single adults, families and youth who are homeless in Lane County.
Amber Fossen
Public Information Officer
Lane County Government
125 E. Eighth Ave.
Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 682.3718
(541) 359.9143 (cell)