Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Point-in-time count: Huerfano County volunteers find 26 adults; service needs and economic pressures cited
Summary
Chelsea Meese, systems coordinator for the unhoused for Los Animas and Huerfano Counties, presented results of a recent point-in-time count for Huerfano County: volunteers identified 26 adults and added 16 names to a by-name list, with many experiencing chronic homelessness and citing employment and housing cost pressures.
Chelsea Meese, the systems coordinator for the unhoused who covers Los Animas and Huerfano counties, presented the results of a recent point-in-time count at the Feb. 25 commissioners meeting.
Meese said volunteers counted 26 adults in Huerfano County during the count and added 16 individuals to the county’s by-name list; some observed individuals were youth or were observed but did not provide identifying information. Of the adults counted in Huerfano County, Meese said her tally included 11 men and 5 women, with ages observed ranging approximately from 15 to 68.
Meese reported that of those counted in Huerfano County, five individuals were employed, eight were seeking employment, three were not working because of chronic health conditions or disabilities, one individual was retired, two were veterans, four were seeking recovery services, and 14 had been on the streets for more than a year — a period Meese identified as chronic homelessness.
Meese also summarized county-level health and economic context drawn from a recent rural health update: Huerfano County and Los Animas County were tied for high unemployment in the region; Huerfano County had a high share of renters spending 35 percent or more of income on rent; it ranked high on several health indicators Meese cited, including drug-overdose-related emergency visits. Meese said those structural factors — low wages, high housing burden and limited local treatment options — contribute to the county’s unhoused population and that many residents must travel outside the county for treatment services.
Meese said volunteers are organizing a community event called “A Home for Everyone,” intended to recruit and coordinate volunteers and community resources. She requested preliminary county sponsorship of at least $250 for a community event; she said she would return to the board with a formal request before the event. Commissioners thanked Meese for the data and requested the summary sheet used at the meeting; a county staff member agreed to provide the point-in-time summary document in PDF form.
Meese said the region’s point-in-time results will be incorporated into broader planning and that the volunteer effort had involved multiple community partners. Commissioners did not make funding decisions at the meeting; Meese’s request for sponsorship was noted for future consideration.
