Dothan to host annual Wiregrass homeless count

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Wiregrass 2-1-1 will host this year’s homeless count in Dothan Saturday, February 4th. Volunteers are needed for the annual count to be successful.

Each year “The US Dept of Housing & Urban Development asks communities across the nation to count the homeless—those without a physical address at a particular point in time. The Southeast Alabama Coalition for the Homeless has arranged for the homeless count to take place on Saturday, February 4.”

People in a shelter, transitional housing, or warming station are included in the count.

At 9:30 a.m. Saturday volunteers are asked to meet at The Harbor (320 North Foster Street) in Dothan for a brief training session. The whole count is expected to end by noon and completely finished by 1/1:30 am.

The count often referred to as PIT (point in time) “greatly affects funding, both private and public, for homeless services and affects the methodology of those services. A thorough count is crucial in identifying and understanding both the progress we’ve made and the gaps within our services” according to Wiregrass 2-1-1.

In 2022 the homeless count totaled to 852 in the Wiregrass area according to Wiregrass 2-1-1.

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