Rockford leaders conduct annual count of homeless population

ROCKFORD (WREX) — The City of Rockford has started it's annual count to track how many homeless people are living in our area.

The Point in Time count will take place in Boone, Dekalb and Winnebago counties.

People in the county will be checking out locations where homeless people normally go.

Those include drop-in centers, emergency rooms, parks, and abandoned buildings.

The data collected during this year's count will determine the estimated number of people experiencing literal homelessness.

Voluneteers will also work to help homeless people find permanent housing.

Rockford officials see the count as a big help in being able to plan for programs in the coming years.

"For example, if we go out and find that we have a whole bunch of unsheltered families that are in our communitiy, then we would want to design our programs to help those that need it the most," City of Rockford Human Services Department Homeless Program Coordinator Angie Walker said.

The Point in Time count continues through 3 p.m. Tuesday.