Preliminary Data Release from 2010 Summer Point in Time Count:
Shows partnerships and coordination of services helping to reduce homelessness in Richmond.

Preliminary Summer Point in Time Data

August 4, 2010 Press Release: Preliminary Data Shows Homelessness Decreasing in Richmond

Preliminary results revealed 891 people in the region experiencing homelessness on July 29, 2010. This number reflects a 16% decrease in the number of people overall experiencing homelessness, with a nearly 12% decrease in the number of unsheltered individuals, from July 2009 to July 2010. The number of homeless children has decreased as well, with a 8% decrease compared to last summer's count.

“In spite of the poor economy, partnerships and prevention are working in the Richmond area. Service providers in the Richmond region are preventing people from losing their housing in the first place and getting them into permanent housing,” said Margot Ackermann, Research and Evaluation Director at Homeward. “From January to July last year, we saw the length of time families stayed in shelters cut in half - and this has huge implications for the children and the quality of people's lives.”

“We need to continue to focus on connecting people with mainstream resources and deal with the consequences of the poor economy. For many people, all they need is a job, which may be hard to come by these days. And we need to build on the successes that we're seeing, particularly with families and people living on the street,” said Kelly King Horne, Executive Director of Homeward.”

For previous data please see the complete 2010 Winter Point in Time Count Data
Here

In addition to the almost 200 surveys Homeward was able to administer at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 52 people received haircuts, many individuals received donated clothing and toiletries. The Minority Health Consortium was able to provide 13 clients with HIV tests and the Daily Planet provided 20 medical screenings. A street outreach worker reported noticing at the event, “We didn’t see some faces we expected to see because they are in housing now.”

The following service providers participated in Homeward's Point in Time Count to collect data on homelessness in the Richmond region.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Richmond Behavioral Health Authority
Hilliard House
Hanover Safe Place
Safe Harbor
Salvation Army
YWCA Richmond
YWCA Chesterfield
Rubicon, Inc.
HomeAgain
Freedom House Community Shelter
The Daily Planet
CARITAS
The Healing Place
Flagler Home
Commonwealth Catholic Charities Point of Entry
Good Samaritan
The ROC
2nd Chances
Friends of the Homeless
McShin Foundation
Daughters of Zelophehad
Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Hospital
The Conrad Center
The City of Richmond Police Department
Chesterfield County Police Department
Henrico County Police Department
The City of Richmond Department of Social Services
Chesterfield County Department of Social Services
Henrico County Department of Social Services
Hanover County Department of Social Services

and Thank you to Williams Mullen, SunTrust, and The United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg for their continued support of Homeward.