A "point in time" count of the number of homeless residents in Wood, Sandusky, Ottawa, and
Seneca counties indicated that the number of homeless persons in 2014 declined from the count in 2013.
However, this count, conducted on Jan. 28, was one of the coldest days of the winter.
The results show that there were 124 individuals who were living in emergency shelters, transitional
housing or literally homeless on that day compared to 150 in 2013.
According to WSOS Support Services Coordinator Ragan Claypool, several factors may have impacted the
count this year. Having completed the count on what was possibly the coldest day of the year, many of
the area’s homeless could have sheltered with friends and family for the night, and cannot be counted
per the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines.
Of that number, 53 had no shelter, 33 were children while 58 were in transitional housing and 33 were in
emergency shelters.
This count is completed annually by organizations which received funding to serve the homeless. HUD
requires regularly occurring counts of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons for communities
interested in applying for funding through the Continuum of Care application process.
WSOS worked with volunteers from the local Homeless Coalitions to conduct the count.
The count for Balance of State communities in Ohio is facilitated by the Coalition on Homelessness and
Housing in Ohio, and it is conducted statewide on the same day for the same time period.
WSOS administers grants that aid individuals and families who find themselves homeless. However, the
number of people who request assistance annually outweighs funding received.
For information on the homeless programs operated by WSOS, call Claypool at 419-334-8911, visit the
website www.wsos.org or e-mail [email protected]