More Volunteers Help With 2016 Homeless Count

The Dallas Metro Homeless Alliance will send 750 volunteers to count the number of homeless people in Dallas and Collin counties Thursday night in an effort to track the progress of ending homelessness and target areas most in need.

Dallas Metro Homeless Alliance President and CEO Cindy Crain said they recruited four times the amount of volunteers this year.

Crain has been working on dividing up the counties into the areas most in need. In Dallas County, groups will count people in Dallas, Garland, Mesquite and Irving. In Collin County, they will focus on Plano, McKinney and Allen.

Volunteers will be sent out in groups starting at 8 p.m. and finish at about 1 a.m. Friday.

While counting the number of homeless people, volunteers will also ask the homeless if they are willing to give their names, information and have a photo taken for a database. 

Federal guidelines require this count to be done annually within the last 10 days of January. Results from the count will be published in March.

Online: Dallas Metro Homeless Alliance

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