County outlines WARM motel stays and point-in-time volunteer push ahead of January counts

County staff announced the second-year activation of the WARM (weather-activated rooms for families) program, a locally funded motel-stay program to provide shelter, meals, transportation and case management during cold-weather events. Athletes of Hope will administer the program under contract in the 2nd District; staff said the program is expected to start Jan. 1 if the Board of Supervisors approves the item at its upcoming meeting.

Staff also announced the 2026 point-in-time (PIT) counts: the sheltered and unsheltered counts will take place across the county with volunteer opportunities (central area Jan. 27, north Jan. 28, south Jan. 29). The volunteer sign-up site is everyonecountsoc.org and roles include field surveyors, captains and deployment-site volunteers. Staff asked for donated gift cards for PIT participants and noted that families and transitional units targeted for community counting will be offered higher compensation (staff referenced an amount of about $20.25 per participant), while general volunteers could be supported by $5 gift cards.

Staff said HUD dictates most survey questions year-over-year but that local preference questions (used to understand local service needs) will remain; the county will align a few questions with HUD updates, including changes in how gender and related data are collected.

Next steps: staff will seek Board approval for the WARM program funding and continue PIT volunteer recruitment and outreach to partners for gift-card donations.