Homeless Count In Cupertino Concludes Wednesday

For the past three days, at the unwelcoming hour of 4 a.m. a group of about 500 community and civic leader volunteers ventured out to find homeless people in Cupertino and surrounding cities as part of Housing 1,000 SV, a campaign to aid the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Before dawn since Monday, volunteers took surveys to homeless individuals living in San Jose, Campbell, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Saratoga, Cupertino, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno to register them in hopes of matching them with housing and other services.

It's important to note, says Bob Dolci, homeless concerns coordinator for Santa Clara County's Housing Development, that this effort was not a count of homeless people--that was conducted in January--it is an effort to get help for the people most at risk of dying while living on the streets and find permanent housing for 1,000 chronically homeless people in Santa Clara County by June 2013.

Teams dispersed to Cupertino and surrounding cities to survey homeless people on the streets, in their encampments and homes as part of Housing 1,000 SV, which says there are about 7,000 homeless people living within the county. Of these, there are about 2,000 that are chronically homeless–they have not had a home in more than a year.

The organization is working with Campbell-based Destination: Home, City of San Jose, County of Santa Clara, Community Technology Alliance and Collab SCC.

The survey is designed to identify chronically homeless people who are most vulnerable to an early death. It asks for information such as name and date of birth, how long the individual has been homeless, and if they have any health issues associated with early mortality. 

Along with the survey, a photo of each individual, with their permission, is taken as well as the location of where they are living in order to match them up with the available appropriate services.

The South County Registry week, which includes Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill, will take place July 20-22.

Results of the January homeless count and of this week's survey will be released shortly, Dolci says.