Nonprofits say they want funding for homeless to be used responsibly

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Some people are on the street wondering where their next meal will come from. Meanwhile, volunteers are making sure these people are accounted for.

This is done through the Point In Time count, where those experiencing homelessness are tallied up.

In last year’s report from the count, a little more than 3,500 people were experiencing homelessness in a single night across South Carolina.

City of Charleston officials say they’re expecting a count of 50 to 100 people just downtown.

Aaron Hicks, the founder of Transformation Outreach which serves the homeless, says he doesn’t want Wednesday night’s count to just shed light on the issue, but to inspire action moving forward.

“Once you know the numbers, once you have the resources, what are your means of getting them out?” Hicks said.

Founder of Uplift Charleston Aaron Comstock, another nonprofit that serves the homeless, says he wants to make sure funding from the federal government for the Point in Time Count will go to the right places and that numbers will be counted accurately.

“To find affordable housing, to build homeless shelters, to build transition homes, to help get jobs, to hire more social workers, or also counselors,” Comstock said.

Executive Director of The Hope Center Latosha Fludd says this census survey is optional and the center values someone’s choice to do it or not.

“Well, because this population is really transient, it’s kind of hard to tell because they may be at one location one day and they may move,” Fludd said.

Both Hicks and Comstock say the Point in Time Count is not completely accurate because there’s many external factors that determine how many homeless people there really are.

The official Point in Time count has not been released yet, but the South Carolina Interagency Council on Homelessness has the previous year’s data, here.

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