A report compiled by the Chester County Department of Community Development and the Decade to Doorways partnership has found that 555 people were identified as experiencing homelessness in Chester County in the early hours of January 25, 2018.

This represents a decrease from the past three years.

Full details of the report will be presented at the county’s Decade to Doorways partnership meeting on Thursday, April 5 from 9-10:30 AM at the Chester County Government Services Center, located at 601 Westtown Road in West Chester. The public is encouraged to attend.

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The Point-in-Time Count is a national effort mandated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness. This includes individuals and families who are residing in emergency shelters and transitional living facilities, as well as unsheltered individuals on the street or in places not meant for sleeping.

Within Chester County, the Point-in-Time Count is one component of understanding homelessness, and part of the proactive strategy in Decade to Doorways: The Community’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Chester County. The county has participated in the Point-in-Time Count for more than 10 years.

Chester County’s 2018 Point-in-Time Count shows a decrease in those experiencing homelessness for three consecutive years. In 2016, 682 individuals were counted, and in 2017, the number was 570.

“The decline in numbers this year can be attributed to several different factors,” said Lauren Campbell, Decade to Doorways Administrator. “These include an increase in resources like Rapid Re-Housing, more programs that focus on keeping people housed once they exit homelessness, and an emphasis on assuring that the most-scarce resources like permanent supportive housing or vouchers go to those that are the most vulnerable, so that they don’t end up homeless again.”

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