Volunteers Needed For Homeless Count

Officials with ADVOCAP are looking for help doing a count of the homeless the night of Wednesday, January 24th. The count will be from 11 p.m. that night to 3 a.m. the following morning. Volunteers will work in two-hour shifts. The Point in Time count is required by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department for agencies that receive their funding. ADVOCAP serves Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Green Lake Counties. Lu Scheer is the Affordable Housing Director for ADVOCAP. She says the count last January found 130 homeless residents in the area in shelters and 10 people living in cars. She says the homeless will take refuge in ice shanties, boat houses and other places you wouldn’t normally associate with shelter to get out of the cold overnight. People can be found living in cars that are parked in factory parking lots or big box retailers like Wal-Mart. An orientation meeting will be held for count volunteers next Monday night at 6 p.m. at the Fond du Lac Salvation Army warming shelter. You can also register for the count at the fondyvolunteers.org website. Look for the opportunity under the ADVOCAP agency.