By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The annual Point-in-Time count in Hutchinson and Reno County to count the homeless occurred this week.
"During the Point-in-Time count, we take a count of sheltered and unsheltered people," said Jennifer Sharp with Horizons Mental Health Center. "Sheltered meaning living with friends, couch hopping, staying in our local shelter, in transitional housing with New Beginnings, places like that. What this does is, it helps us get an accurate number for our vulnerable population in Reno County that relates directly to the funding that we receive from the state and federal levels to serve those people."
Horizons is involved because of the role mental illness plays in homelessness.
"Mental illness plays a big part," Sharp said. "It can be from as simple as just depressive symptoms that keep them from having the motivation to get up and change their situation, clear to the other end of the spectrum, where it can go clear back to childhood trauma. Oftentimes, this leads to substance abuse and then they are just in this endless loop that they can't get out of until different providers, myself, New Beginnings, the battered women's shelter, we step in and we help break that cycle and help them to reach out to resources that can help them be successful."
COVID-19 had an impact on this year's count.
"It made it quite a bit difficult," Sharp said. "We were back and forth on whether it was safe to do it or not. We did decide to go ahead and try to get out there and get some supplies to people and get the best count we could this year. We didn't see the numbers we had hoped for, but, thankfully, while trying to coordinate this through a pandemic, I made some valuable connections in the community, one being The Coffee Corner on Adams."
The numbers are still being compiled. Horizons plans to provide Hutch Post with the final count once it is ready for KDHE.
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