Editor’s note: BenitoLink was requested not to photograph individuals during the event to preserve confidentiality. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
Before the sun came up, county staff, law enforcement and volunteers gathered Jan. 31 to perform the 2024 Point-in-Time count, which counts homeless people in the county. The count is conducted every two years.
The U.S. The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that Continuum of Care Programs conduct a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. The count is done by jurisdictions which seek federal funding for homeless programs, help those in need and strategize an end to homelessness.
A draft of the count is expected to be ready by May, said Deputy Director of San Benito County Community Services and Workforce Development Enrique Arreola. The final data will be presented to the county in July or August.
According to the January 2022 homeless count , there were 357 people experiencing homelessness. That was a 26% increase from the last count, done in 2019.
This year, 11 groups of volunteers and county staff were sent to 11 locations, three of which covered the San Benito River areas that run through Hollister.
Each group consisted of four people including: an expert who is or was homeless, a county representative and one or two volunteers.
One or two officers from Hollister Police Department or San Benito County Sheriff’s Office accompanied the three teams assigned to the San Benito riverbed, plus a team that covered the downtown area, to help with any safety issues.
“They’re not there to intrude, just there for support,” Arreola said.
Arreola was in the second river team that included San Benito County Health & Human Services Deputy Director Josh Mercier, volunteer county planner Arielle Goodspeed, Geographic Information Systems coordinator Rene Anchieta, and Jennifer Coulter, the group’s expert.
In 2022, only one team tackled the riverbed, but it wasn’t enough, Arreola said. So two teams were added to tally homeless people staying in the area.
Coulter lived near the riverbed in November before moving to her current spot under the Fourth Street bridge. She was designated an expert because of her knowledge of the area and the people living there.
Within its first 25 minutes on the riverbed, the group came upon a large encampment. Inside were two tents which were fenced off to the trail along the river.
Two medium-sized dogs immediately started barking as the group approached the area.
Coulter said people experiencing homelessness usually own a dog or two for companionship and protection.
While Point-in-Time groups count the number of homeless people in the county, they do not disturb the encampment occupants, Arreola said.
At the first riverbed encampment, Coulter told Arreola there were two couples—one in each tent—then the group moved along.
As the group continued walking, Anchieta was logging cars, car parts, tires and bulky trash on his cellphone as evidence of illegal dumping.
Arreola said this was the first year that a county coordinator tagged along to record bulky trash.
In an hour and a half of surveying, eight people were counted living on the riverbed.
Other areas with Point in Time groups included Westside Hollister, the Sunnyslope area, Dunne Park, Veterans Memorial Park and south of the Nash Road bridge.
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