LEWISTON — An initiative aimed at boosting federal funding to fight homelessness in the area by seeking out uncounted homeless people in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties is having trouble rounding up enough volunteers willing to help.
About 17 people in Androscoggin County have signed on to help with the Jan. 30 count, simultaneously being conducted across the county. However, only about six people have volunteered in the other two counties.
That’s too few to conduct the count in every community in the region. Together, Oxford and Franklin counties comprise 57 municipalities, spread across a vast region.
Even in Androscoggin County, more volunteers are needed, said Jerry DeWitt, a VISTA volunteer with Tri-County Mental Health Services. He has no one yet to help with the search in Livermore and Livermore Falls.
The effort grew out of a nationwide count administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The count is used by the federal agency to help set funding to each state.
Typically, groups contact shelters for their counts. But there is growing concern that many people are not being counted. Advocates also worry that a high number of the forgotten are veterans. They are specifically targeted for help, because extra services are available to them through the Veterans Affairs Administration.
The search includes talking with police and game wardens, as well as people at General Assistance offices, soup kitchens and shelters, said DeWitt, a veteran who has a mission of helping other veterans. Another part of the job is going to places where homeless people might be biding their time, including laundries, supermarkets, alleys and stands of trees.
The work doesn’t need to take long or be done at a specific time.
“It doesn’t matter what time you do it, as long as it’s on that day,” DeWitt said. “Morning. Afternoon. Evening. Whatever.”
Along with volunteering to help on Jan. 30, people must get a brief lesson on what’s needed from them, including the collection of information about each homeless person they meet.
“When I finally get a chance to talk with volunteers, they seem to be more comfortable with it,” DeWitt said. “I don’t have to sell them too much.”
The knowledge that there are homeless people who aren’t being helped should inspire people to join the effort, DeWitt said.
“There are more homeless people than we know about,” he said. “They’re not necessarily standing on the corner with a sign that says, ‘I’m homeless and need food.’ There’s a lot of people that are holed up in a friend’s house, on a couch or in a car they’re trying to keep from freezing in.”
dhartill@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
