Slight Increase in Cape & Islands Homeless During ‘Point in Time’ Count

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
St. Francis House in Hyannis.

HYANNIS – The annual “point in time” homeless count saw a slight increase from 2018.

Several local agencies participated in the annual count required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on January 29 and counted 371 homeless people in shelters, transitional housing, motels or other places not meant for human habitation.

The number of homeless individuals released by the Cape and Islands Regional Network on Homelessness was up more than 3 percent from last year.

“There was a slight increase, but the population of homeless individuals and families has remained fairly constant from the last five or six years,” said Martha Taylor, the Barnstable County Homeless Management Information Systems program manager.

The number of people in homeless shelters increased by 13 in 2019.

“There were a few more families in shelter on the Cape than there were last year,” Taylor said.

The number of unsheltered individuals remained virtually unchanged from 2018. There was a notable decrease in the number of unsheltered males and an increase in the number of unsheltered females.

Volunteers from dozens of agencies across Cape Cod and Island assisted in collecting information for this year’s count.

“The ‘point in time’ is a community wide effort and is a snapshot of homelessness in our region on a given night,” said Beth Albert, the director of Human Services for Barnstable County. “By collecting this data on an annual basis, we have a better understanding of the number and demographics of the homeless population and are able to track trends.”

The data collected helps for planning and spreading around resources.

The count also collects information on age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity and veteran status of the individuals and families without housing.