Ledger-Dispatch

By Raheem Hosseini (editor@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

From left, Alexis Lewis, 11, of Pine = Grove, Max=20 Adams, 5, and her sister Kylie, 10, of Ione, serve food during = Trinity=20 Episcopal Church's free dinner Tuesday, open to "the homeless and=20 hungry."

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
Hoping to learn from past experiences, = community organizers and a broad swath of volunteers quietly ventured to = more=20 than two dozen locations during an unadvertised survey of the county's = homeless=20 population.

The 48-hour survey that ended yesterday evening was = what=20 organizers described as a point-in-time count. It officially began 5 = p.m.=20 Tuesday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Sutter Creek, where planners = hoped a free=20 spaghetti dinner would draw rural homeless who have proven wary of = engaging=20 those in official capacities.

The dinner, put together in a short = two=20 weeks, was sparsely attended, however, a development some organizers = think may=20 have been due more to a lack of transportation options rather than the = fear of=20 being rounded up.

Free church dinners have been successful in = Calaveras=20 and Tuolumne counties, where the two-day survey also took place. The = three=20 counties are partnered with each other in the Central Sierra Continuum = of Care,=20 a network of homeless service providers whose funding is tied, in part, = to the=20 results of homeless counts.

"The only way we're going to get the = funding=20 we need is if we get as accurate a count as possible," said Lynda = Miller, grant=20 director for Operation Care and one of the counters.

Both = government and=20 nonprofit service organizations have felt the pinch of the nation's = deepening=20 recession and diminishing funding opportunities. The county's homeless = shelter=20 in Jackson is at capacity, while the social services department office = in Sutter=20 Creek has experienced a sharp increase in its caseload.

Experts = say the=20 vagaries of rural homelessness, as opposed to more heavily populated = urban=20 areas, pose a unique set of challenges to those attempting to quantify = the=20 problem, much less address it. Less is known about rural homelessness in = general, estimated to make up about 9 percent of the nation's overall = homeless=20 population, according to a February 2008 paper on homelessness. Studies = indicate=20 rural homeless are more likely to be white, female, married and attached = to=20 families than their urban counterparts. While they are statistically = less=20 educated, the paper suggests they are more likely to be employed in = low-wage=20 jobs and less likely to take advantage of government assistance, either = because=20 they're unaware of what's available or too proud to seek = help.

Those who=20 work regularly with Amador's homeless say fear plays a large role in the = local=20 population's attempts to remain under the radar. While the surveys are = anonymous=20 and are conducted to identify gaps in service that could be addressed = through=20 additional federal funding, organizers acknowledge they can have a = difficult=20 time proving their intentions are pure.

That's one of the main = reasons=20 this year's survey wasn't publicized.

A dry run in Tuolumne = County Monday=20 night depicted part of the problem. According to homeless volunteers = helping=20 with the survey, Margaret "Beetle" Barbour, housing resources director = for the=20 Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, one of the stakeholders in the = survey,=20 said the explanation for the undercount was "eye opening." The reason = they're=20 hiding, she recalled, was because many have children and are worried = that child=20 protective services would intervene.

Organizers also learned a = lot from=20 Amador's inaugural count nearly two years ago, when advanced notice of = the=20 survey sent homeless into hiding, fearful it was masquerading as a = probation=20 sweep. Public health workers and community service providers who spent = 24 hours=20 combing Amador's rural landscape during the county's inaugural survey in = April=20 2007 regularly cite the fliers and other promotional materials that were = widely=20 distributed before the count for its low tallies. Only 51 surveys were = turned in=20 then, less than one-third the number homeless advocates believe exists=20 locally.

This time, surveyors kept a lower profile and reached = out to=20 local homeless individuals to help with the count.

"Who better to = find=20 the homeless than the homeless," noted Denise Chase, the Jackson = shelter's=20 coordinator.

The tactical changes also made it a little tougher = to=20 attract volunteers during the early planning stages, an issue that was = further=20 compounded by the effects of the county's budget = problems.

"Public health=20 nurses are not going out this year," Barbour said. "They cannot. They = just can't=20 afford to."

Instead, planners relied on a mix of volunteers from = local=20 nonprofits, churches and the streets themselves. Chase, who is seeing a = spike in=20 visitors, including those with jobs that are newly homeless, hopes the = results=20 are eye opening. Recommendations for combating rural homelessness = consistently=20 include permanent supportive housing, increased collaboration among = service=20 providers and improved mobile outreach.

"You have to make it = really real=20 for people to see it," Chase said of the problem. "And if they see it, = it's=20 their ultimate responsibility as a community to do something about it, = because=20 the numbers are staggering right now."

Raheem = Hosseini