By Mark Carlisle

Independent Newsmedia

Preliminary numbers from the latest homeless count in Glendale shows a dramatic increase in homelessness in the city, as city staff ramps up its efforts to combat homelessness.

Glendale’s homeless point in time count, which took place Tuesday, Jan. 23, showed that homelessness more than doubled since last year, though city staff emphasized that the numbers are preliminary and unofficial. Official numbers will be release by Maricopa Association of Governments in May.

The unofficial numbers counted more than 160 homeless individuals in Glendale, almost three times higher than last year’s count of 57, which was already significantly higher than any year since 2010. Staff presented the preliminary report to Glendale’s Community Development Advisory Committee at its Thursday, Feb. 22 meeting.

Renee Ayres-Benavidez, revitalization grants supervisor, did not give the committee all of the details of the count, but provided what she called a “high-level summary.” Community Services Director Stephanie Small willpresent a full report to City Council on March 27. Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said staff wanted to be respectful and not release all of the information until it’s presented to Council.

Ms. Ayres-Benavidez also said that the official count released by MAG is usually a little lower than the preliminary count due to MAG’s standard of who qualifies as homeless.

Glendale is in the midst of efforts to improve its efforts to aid the homeless in town, a population that rocketed in recent years. In August 2017, Ms. Small presented Glendale’s Strategic Homeless Action Plan to City Council. The plan included improved communication with homeless in the city, research for this year’s point-in-time count, partnering with community groups that aid the homeless and appointing a part-time homeless coordinator. Rosalind Sleet was recently hired to that position and was introduced to CDAC at its Feb 22 meeting.

CDAC has also made strides to partner with community groups, heavily prioritizing homeless aid in its recommendations to Council of which nonprofits to fund with the city’s Community Development Block Grants. The committee suggested $127,734, nearly 40 percent of the amount available for public services, go toward organizations that aid the homeless. Those recommendations were finalized Thursday and will go before Council for approval.

This year’s increased count is also partially due to increased efforts of city staff to conduct the count, including more volunteers, resources and research into where to look to find homeless people.

The homeless point in time count, mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, happens during the same week each year across the country and on the same day each year across Maricopa County, always the third Tuesday of January.

Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said that 30 homeless individuals were counted from just one location that the city didn’t know to count before.

When staff talked to a volunteer at Grateful Hearts, at the corner of 49th and Northern avenues, the volunteer said that the charity feeds the homeless every Tuesday — the same day of the week as the count.

“Well, no wonder we’re not getting everybody, because they’re with her on Tuesday mornings,” Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said she thought to herself at the time.

“So, we knew our count was going to be up, just because of that particular source that we hadn’t taken into account before,” Ms. Ayres-Benavidez.

Bonsall Park, at Bethany Home Road and 59th Avenue, was another place that volunteers found more homeless this year.

On Jan. 23, 44 volunteers on 22 teams searched every part of Glendale to count and survey homeless people between 6:30 and noon. Volunteers included support from city management, Glendale’s police and fire departments, code compliance, housing, the Community Action Program as well as local homeless charities and churches.

For the first time, volunteers from Phoenix Rescue Mission and Community Bridges volunteered withthe count. Also, police who volunteered did so off duty, able to commit all of their attention to the count, where in the past, officers contributed to the count effort while on patrol and had to fit it in between their other duties.

Park rangers were a big help to the count, because many knew where to look for homeless individuals. Some rangers even talked to homeless people in parks beforehand and encouraged them to be in the same spot on the count day to be sure they were counted.

In addition to determining if an individual is homeless, the count included survey questions including a person’s gender, race and ethnicity, age, how long and how many times he or she has been homeless, and reasons why he or she might be homeless such as alcohol and drug addiction and mental and physical health issues.

Those counted also received a list of local resources for the homeless as well as a hygiene kit, which included items like water, socks, underwear, shampoo and wipes.

The count only included people who fit HUD’s definition of homelessness, which is narrower than what most people view homelessness as.

“The definition is very specific with HUD. And that means that you have to literally have been on the street or in aplace not meant for human habitation the night before. So, it’s an imperfectstudy,” Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said, noting that people

couch surfing are not counted.

Those who stayed in a homeless shelter the night before are counted in a different report. “All of the shelters then, who housed people the night before, report in on their count as well… And so, when we get our final offi cial counts, they will count sheltered and unsheltered,” Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said.

Ms. Ayres-Benavidez did not disclose all demographic results of the count at the meeting but said white males still make up the largest demographic of Glendale homeless. Alcohol and drug abuse problems decreased a little from past years, it’s still a primary reason for homelessness. Most people are not in families and the age of those counted increased a little from last year.

Volunteers also encountered a few individuals that had been on the street for decades, something that counters hadn’t seen before, Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said. One person had been on the street for 20 years, another for 40.

Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said this wasn’t too surprising because homeless individuals who are resistant to services would be drawn to the West Valley, rather than places like Mesa or Phoenix, where services are more readily available.

Because of that trend, each side of the Valley had a different response to MAG’s policy to publicize the count beforehand, Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said. The East Valley felt it helped there count, because most homeless wanted to be counted, and the West Valley felt it hurt its count because many homeless don’t want to be counted and would know to make themselves scarce on that day.

Several homeless individuals approached by volunteered on Jan. 23 wanted to be left alone, Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said. None of the individuals counted who identifi ed as veterans, probably less than 5 percent of the total, city staff said, were interested in being connected with resources to help homeless veterans.

Ms. Ayres-Benavidez and Community Revitalization Administrator Charyn Eirich- Palmisano said they believe the amount of homeless veterans in Glendale is likely higher than what was counted because many do not want to identify as veterans.

However, some individuals were happy to be counted. One came from an unexpected place. Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said one count volunteer, who also volunteers at Grateful Hearts, suggested that his team search a certain area that he knew well and was familiar with the homeless people living there.

“As he was talking to the park ranger who was doing to count out in the area, he goes, ‘You know, no one’s ever counted me.’ …Turns out he’s homeless,” she said. “So, how impressive is that? That you have someone that is homeless, who wants to be part of the count to make sure we’re collecting the right information so that we can begin to make a difference in the community.”

City staff constantly points to the complexity of trying to help the homeless, often noting that some don’t want help, others wanting something unexpected.

Responses to a new question on the survey this year exemplified the complexities of homelessness.

The survey’s new question asked, “What is the one this if you could pick that would make a difference to you in terms or being homeless or not being homeless?” Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said.

The most common need people responded with was housing, but some answers were more surprising.

“Just give me a Bible and I’ll be fine,” one homeless person said.

Another homeless man revealed the type of tragedy that leads many to a life on the street.

“If you can bring my wife back, then I won’t be homeless,” he said.Glendale’s Strategic Homeless Action plan, which Ms. Ayres-Benavidez said was the city’s first formalized action plan to address homelessness.

Part of that process, which was aided by this count, she said “was to do data collection and get a handle on, Who are our homeless? Where are they? What do they need?”

The city is also doing what it can for homeless in the meantime by partnering with local homeless organizations and educating departments like police and parks of which resources to connect the homeless with.