Madison Czopek Jan 31, 2021
After gearing up for a cold night, the group poses for a pre-count photo. From left to right: Brandon Reynolds, Peggy Hall, Debbie Ito and Brian Kashner.
While many people cursed Tuesday’s wintry weather, one group of residents viewed the snow that blanketed the town by Wednesday evening as a small stroke of luck.
Snow makes it easier to see footprints, which proves helpful for the volunteers who conduct Wareham’s annual Point-In-Time count of the unsheltered homeless population.
As part of a nationwide effort required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Point-In-Time count is described as “a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness” on one night in January. This year, the count occurred on Jan. 27, and six unsheltered individuals were found in Wareham.
Madison Czopek Jan 28, 2021
Jared Forrest, 17, poses with many of the items he donated to Turning Point alongside 11-year-old Jonathan Dunn and Turning Point’s Debbie Ito. Photos by: Madison Czopek
Forrest carries a tent into the Turning Point offices.
Forrest, his mom Olga, and Dunn unload boxes of toiletries from the SUV.
Forrest unloads another tent from the SUV.
Several tents and tarps were among the donations.
Toiletries many travel-sized, which is preferred were also among Forrest’s donations.
One Wareham teenager is helping the homeless during the recent economic downturn.
Jared Forrest, a 17-year-old working toward becoming an Eagle Scout, dropped off a carload of donations to Turning Point, a resource center for the town’s homeless or near-homeless community, on Wednesday Jan. 27.