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Count of unsheltered homeless canceled in South Dakota
The Associated PressJanuary 25, 2021News
Homeless Count Cancelled
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) State officials have canceled the annual count of South Dakota’s unsheltered homeless population because of the coronavirus pandemic and other concerns.
The count is usually done on the last Tuesday of January. Volunteers of America regional homeless services coordinator Sara Hornick says the Department of Housing and Urban Development made the decision not to do the count this year because of the pandemic, lack of personal protection equipment and an insufficient number of volunteers.
Hornick says the count of homeless people in shelters will still take place Tuesday.
S.D. COVID-19 graphic.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) â Organizers of South Dakotaâs annual point-in-time count for the stateâs unsheltered homeless population have cancelled the effort this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sara Hornick, Rapid City-area coordinator of homeless services for Volunteers of America, says the count was called off mainly because of a shortage of volunteers, lack of personal protective equipment and concerns about the spread of COVID-19. She says the vulnerable homeless population is quite large, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development decided against the count.
Hornick says the count of homeless people in shelters will still take place Tuesday. She and other regional coordinators are concerned about how the decision will impact the level of federal funding.