Inyo County schedules Jan. 30 point‑in‑time count; officials seek volunteers, cite funding implications

Stephanie Brookfield, an Inyo County human services representative, told the Jan. 20 District 1 community meeting that the county will conduct a point‑in‑time (PIT) count on Jan. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. with a training session at 4 p.m. "A point in time is a coordinated initiative aimed at measuring the homelessness within a community on a specific night," Brookfield said, explaining the count will include people living in places not meant for human habitation, emergency shelters and transitional housing.

Brookfield said the county will host spaghetti dinners at the wellness centers in Bishop and Lone Pine during the count; volunteers and partner organizations will assist with surveys and will offer backpacks and basic supplies to people encountered. She said last year's PIT count recorded 71 individuals experiencing homelessness in Inyo County and that the data is reported to the state and used to guide funding and program decisions.

"This count is for individuals who are living in places not meant for human habitation, in emergency shelters, as well as in transitional housing," Brookfield said. She said Inyo, Mono and Alpine counties are coordinating counts on the same night and that the state reviews the results to determine funding for outreach, shelter and services.

On who is included, Brookfield said the count follows HUD definitions: people living in cars and RVs in dispersed camping without access to water and sanitation will be counted; RVs that are connected to services or located in a park with services generally are not counted as homeless for the PIT. "We do count individuals who are living in their cars and their RVs out in dispersed camping where they don't have access to water and sanitation. And that's based off of federal HUD definitions of homelessness for this count in particular," she said.

Brookfield said the count helps identify gaps the county's current state and federal funding does not cover and can drive applications for additional grants. She said the county currently receives state and federal funds for homeless services but is not operating on separate grants right now; staff will use the PIT results to direct outreach and apply for additional community grants where necessary.

Brookfield encouraged community members to volunteer and to report known encampment locations; partner organizations providing locations and contacts include the city of Bishop, the sheriff's office and Bureau of Land Management staff. Training options include an in‑person session at the County Office Building with an online option. A flyer with a QR code and local contact information is available at the meeting.

Questions from the public covered logistics, tribal participation and outreach. Brookfield said Bishop Tribe will run its own count and participate in training; outreach to other tribal offices in the county produced limited responses. She said conducting a winter count in a cold, rural area is challenging but noted volunteers will travel to known camping areas, pit campgrounds and dispersed sites to meet people where they are.

Brookfield asked interested volunteers to scan the flyer QR code or contact her through the county for volunteer sign‑up and training information.