Vista, CA – January 27, 2017… On Thursday, January 27th the community came out to support the Annual Point in Time Count, a national effort to count the homeless. Operation HOPE-Vista served as the Site Coordinator for all of Vista and San Marcos. Twenty-two teams came out at 3:30 in the morning on a Friday, armed with a flashlight, a clipboard and a sweater ready to count.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates the Count each year, and distributes funding in part, based on the number of individuals counted. HUD considers a person to be homeless if they are living “rough,” meaning on the street, in their cars, doubled up in housing and in social service housing.
Despite being held at an early hour, many Vista agencies were represented: Amanda Lee from the City of Vista Department of Housing, Michelle Walsh from Vista Unified School District, Lifeline Community Services, more than 15 employees of the County of San Diego, and more than 25 community volunteers.
The Regional Task Force will spend the next two months disseminating the information collected across the county on Friday and release a county wide report detailing the findings.
Operation HOPE-Vista provides 45 beds to homeless families in North County. As the counters began returning from their routes about 6:30 am, the clients were already up preparing for their day. They shared a warm breakfast, courtesy of Bobby Jones at Sunrise Café, and interesting conversation.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Count or the programs of Operation HOPE-Vista please call 760-536-3880 or visit www.operationhopeshelter.org.
