One person was found homeless in Oconto County on Jan. 29, the only person in a five-county area living outside a shelter, according to the results of a biannual homelessness count.
Forty-five others were residing in domestic violence shelters or homeless shelters, according to Amanda Anderson, community access director for NEWCAP, which coordinated the count for Oconto, Marinette, Menominee, Shawano and Florence counties.
The highest homelessness numbers were reported in Menominee County, with 27 individuals in shelters, followed by Shawano County with 12 and Marinette County with six. No individuals were found to be homeless in Florence County.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires counts be conducted on the last Wednesday in January and July, and the results are used to evaluate the scope of local homelessness, engage in program development and assist in determining future funding for the community.
Of the 46 reported in the January count, 36 were living with family members, and nine were singles. The age and gender of the people were not released.
According to Anderson, the homeless person in Oconto County was a man living in a vehicle. He had not been counted in past homeless counts, she said.
For Diane Nichols, the count is not a true reflection of the homelessness problem in Oconto County.
A former board president of Kingdom Come food pantry, Nichols worked with a local committee interested in opening a transitional housing facility in Oconto Falls in 2011. The project did not materialize, but not because the need wasn’t there. In a January 2012 survey at Kingdom Come, 57 clients identified themselves as homeless, reporting they were living in RVs, a relative’s garage, a car or other locations.
“You can’t say there’s only one or two, when people are self-identifying (as homeless). I don’t think people are doing that to get publicity,” she said.
She said the guidelines NEWCAP is required to follow for the count don’t show a true picture of the problem.
“Your chance of finding homeless people, especially in a rural area, are very, very small,” she said. “Counts like this … don’t help the situation. (They show) there is no problem, and that’s not true.”
The count was performed by 19 volunteers, with help from police and other agencies, who drove around from 10 p.m. to midnight looking in places that homeless people might be found.
The sub-zero temperatures on that night and bitterly cold winter overall may have affected the number of homeless that were located, Anderson said. They may have found shelter in a secure area, not necessarily a home, but somewhere out of the cold and out of sight when volunteers combed the area.
The 46 homeless counted in January matched the July count.
NEWCAP is part of the Future of Housing Continuum of Care, which is composed of local social service agencies and nonprofit organizations committed to eliminating homelessness and improving housing options.
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