ST. GEORGE — Due to winter’s deep snow and subzero temperatures, many individuals in Iron County’s homeless population seek warmer climates. With the area heating up and the number of homeless individuals more likely to rise, what can Southern Utahns do to help?
In January, the Iron County Local Homelessness Council conducted a point-in-time count survey, where staff and volunteers recorded the number of homeless individuals in the community as mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Information from these efforts is collected on local, state and national levels to get a sense of the general number of homeless people across America, Iron County Care and Share’s Executive Director James Jetton told Cedar City News.
The counts are also used for outreach efforts, connecting individuals to services and providing kits stocked with items such as sleeping bags, tents, hand warmers, food and other items that will encourage safety and better health while living outdoors, Jetton said.
Surveys are collected for up to seven days and then turned in to the state, where the data is processed. Then finalized numbers are returned to providers, Jetton said, adding that this data is one factor used to determine how much federal funding a region receives.
They observed 12 homeless individuals throughout the county — a drop from last year’s count of 18 people.
“From the conversations I have had with homeless people in our area, that drop is partially due to the severity of this past winter,” he added.
Comparatively, during last year’s unofficial summer count, they recorded 28 individuals, with 22 counted the previous fall. Jetton said that inclement weather is “one of the biggest issues” for the count in Iron County as it is more difficult to locate homeless individuals in the winter, and many will leave the area for warmer climates to avoid snow and subfreezing temperatures.
Additionally, “the PIT count methodology of people going out this one night isn’t very good for counting homelessness in rural areas because we have a very large area to cover,” he said. “We don’t tend to have people congregate in groups in centralized areas the way they do — maybe around a park or something — in a larger urban area. So it’s very hard to locate people.”
Potentially because Iron County’s community is smaller, there are fewer people working in human services and fewer volunteers than in larger cities, Jetton said, adding that point-in-time count surveys are lesser known in the region.
“Maybe that’s partially because homelessness in rural areas is not super visible,” he said. “It’s not a real hot topic in a lot of rural areas the way it is in urban spaces just because you don’t see it quite the same way.”
Various volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year at the Iron County Care and Share, including in the food pantry, where people are needed to sort food items, stock shelves, assemble food boxes and complete light janitorial work, among other tasks, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Volunteers can also pick up donations from local grocers, prepare meals for shelter clients or distribute food boxes for local senior citizens. While not currently available, sometimes volunteers are needed to answer phones, greet clients, hand out toiletries and other necessities and assist care managers at the shelter, the site states.
Other volunteer opportunities are posted on the Care and Share’s Facebook page. For instance, they posted a request for someone to trim grass and weeds on the facility’s perimeter on June 1.
The nonprofit also encourages residents to plant a row of vegetables in their garden to donate.
“Over 8,000 people in Iron County do not have consistent access to enough food to live an active, healthy life. You can help turn it around by one row in the ground,” a man states in an audio file that plays on the website.
Those interested in supporting the Iron County Care and Share and the local homeless population can also attend the Iron County Local Homelessness Council’s public meetings held on the last Thursday of each month at 3:15 p.m. at the Cedar City Visitor Center, 581 North Main Street. Or visit the nonprofit’s website to donate.
The next unofficial count is planned for mid-August and the Care and Share is accepting volunteers. Those interested can email Jetton or call 435-586-5142.
The next federally mandated count will occur in January 2024 — likely on the fourth Wednesday of the month into Thursday’s early morning hours.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.