Delayne Sigerman is ready for the count, and she’s got a squad to help her reach out to homeless people in Kerrville. The annual point-in-time count of the city homeless takes place Thursday.
Just how many there are is unclear, but they are out there. The numbers fluctuate annually, and last year there were three. Sigerman said below-freezing temperatures probably hid the accurate numbers because volunteers found 21 in 2021.
The count begins at about 7 a.m., and 20 volunteers will fan out in the morning. Armed with bags of essential supplies and questions, volunteers will assess each person they talk with during the count.
“So the first question you ask them is where do you plan on sleeping tonight?” Sigerman said during an appearance on The Lead Live. “And sometimes where did you sleep last night and sometimes it’s obvious. But anyway, you start that may I ask you some questions and there’s a there’s a survey that we give.”
Each volunteer also offers a bag of goods, which Sisters in Service put together. Those essential items include socks, a knit cap, a first aid kit and toiletries.
In 2022, the Texas Homeless Network found more than 7,000 homeless people in 55 counties across the state. The split between sheltered and unsheltered was nearly even. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that Texas had more than 24,000 homeless people, but that number had declined 5% since 2019.
Sigerman said the importance of participating in the count is the potential to provide additional services.
“I like to think that the data comes back to us with funding for some of our nonprofits,” Sigerman said. It also tells us it’s an awareness that we are short emergency shelters. We need more beds.”
