Carbon County’s annual “Unsheltered Homeless” Point-in-Time count will take place this Wednesday.

This count is spearheaded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development each year through its local Continuums of Care in an effort to:

• Measure and monitor trends and changes in homelessness on local and national levels;

• Help communities (including states) understand what resources are needed and strategize the best ways to use them to end homelessness;

The Carbon County Action Committee for Human Services has been organizing this count in the county for years.

The committee is teaming up with its various community partners, including: Family Promise of Carbon County, Carbon County Office on Aging’s Share Program, Peaceful Knights, and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Beaver Meadows.

Representatives from these agencies and other volunteers will be combing local communities to identify those who are homeless the evening of the count to gather information about them and offer care packages including toiletries, gloves, hats, socks, snacks, as well as, other valuable tools and information regarding available services.

A couple warm sites will also be open Wednesday for homeless individuals to visit, share information about their circumstances, and receive similar care packages, tools and information on available services: The Carbon County Action Committee at 267 South 2nd St., Lehighton, between 6- 8 p.m. and Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church at 19 Second St., Beaver Meadows between 5 and 8 p.m.

The action committee has also shared details concerning this count with local police departments, area service providers, local food pantries, and area school districts requesting assistance in surveying any homeless individuals/families that they had personal contact with either the evening of the count or the next morning that slept in a place not meant for human habitation. All completed surveys must be returned to the “Action Committee” by 2/1/2023 to be reviewed for possible duplication before being submitted to the Eastern PA Continuum of Care for final review and reporting to HUD.

Anyone who is homeless or has any family members or friends who are experiencing homelessness are encouraged to either visit one of sites Wednesday evening or call the Action Committee at 610-377-6400 (x223) to make other arrangements to be counted.