The results of an annual survey are showing an increase of 4.4 percent in overall homelessness this year in Wichita and Sedgwick County.
The Point-In-Time Homeless County was conducted in January, and the results were announced Monday:
- Total number of homeless persons: 619 compared to 593 in 2019
- Homeless veterans: 58 compared to 57 in 2019
- Chronically homeless persons: 48 compared to 20 in 2019
- Unsheltered homeless persons: 61 compared to 57 in 2019
- Homeless children under 18 without shelter: none (same as 2019)
The Count is a project of Impact ICT CoC, formerly known as the Wichita-Sedgwick County Continuum of Care. The group includes the United Way of the Plains and a number of community organizations. Volunteers went out on the streets on January 30th to survey individuals and families who were on the streets or staying in shelters.
The survey is considered to be only a snapshot of homelessness on one specific night, using the definition of literal homelessness from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The definition covers people who are on the streets or in shelters, and it does not include people who are staying in a home or a hotel or motel, with a friend, or people who are in a treatment facility or in a jail.
