26 January 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The annual count of homeless in Wichita and Sedgwick County is taking place today from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
United Way of the Plains and its partner agencies will work with volunteers counting the homeless in the area.
The results are then reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to study national trends.
“These data collection teams will be speaking with the homeless face-to-face and gathering information that will eventually be used to get them into a safer and more stable environment,” said Cole Schnieders, United Way of the Plains manages Impact ICT – Continuum of Care and is leading the 2023 data collection efforts.
The count information is also used by the Impact ICT – Continuum of Care (CoC) to make local funding decisions, study trends, reach underserved persons, and increase awareness about those who don’t have stable housing.
The last Point-In-Time Homeless Count in Wichita-Sedgwick County was conducted on February 24, 2022. Results showed a total number of 690 homeless persons in Wichita-Sedgwick County compared to 619 in 2020. A complete count was not conducted in 2021 due to various service disruptions caused by the pandemic.