Stanislaus County is preparing for a massive undertaking to better understand homelessness. The goal is to find out who the homeless are in Stanislaus County and how many people live in your community.

This undertaking is called the Homeless Point-In-Time (PIT) Count, and people are being sought to help out.

The 2025 PIT Count is an annual survey of people experiencing homelessness in the county, whether on the streets or in shelters. The data is critical to determining the scope of the problem and the amount of funding available to communities to develop housing and supportive services for people moving from homelessness to independent living.

“The PIT Count is one of the ways we measure progress in effectively ending homelessness in our community,” stated Maryn Pitt, Chair of the Community System of Care. “We need volunteers all over Stanislaus County to make this happen and ensure that we reach and interview as many people experiencing homelessness as possible.”

The count is organized by the Stanislaus Community System of Care (CSOC), which includes local governments, non-profits, and homeless providers.

Every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities to count the number of people experiencing homelessness in counties across the nation.

It’s a snapshot in time, an unduplicated count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. This year’s PIT Count is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.

The countywide operation requires many volunteers. They’ll work alongside the Stanislaus County Homeless Outreach and Engagement Team as they fan out across communities.

Volunteers will engage with local homeless individuals and their families to complete a survey and help distribute care packages that include beanies, socks, snack, and water, to people they meet. The goal is to register 260 volunteers to aid in the effort in late January.

If you want to participate, visit https://stanislaus.pointintime.info/ to register. Mandatory training is required for volunteers, who can choose a training session and select the city where they’d like to work.

Volunteers can also register by calling 209-558-2961 or e-mail csoc@stancounty.com.

The registration deadline is Jan. 8, 2025. Last year, a total of 2,052 homeless people were identified in Stanislaus County, down slightly from the 2023 PIT Count of 2,091. For more information about CSOC and its work, visit www.csocstan.com.