MARIETTA — A recent homeless count in Washington County found 23 people living on the streets or in shelters, but those leading the count say the number of homeless is probably much higher.

On Jan. 22, the Continuum of Care Committee did a point and time count of the homeless population in the county, according to Dawn Rauch, director of planning and development at Washington-Morgan Community Action.

The Continuum of Care Committee consists of local agencies that include Washington-Morgan Community Action, the Salvation Army, EVE, Inc., Washington County Job and Family Services and Caring Connection. The committee used two groups of volunteers from their agencies on Jan. 22 to comb known homeless living areas to get as accurate a count as possible of the homeless population in the county.

“There were 10 unsheltered people living on the streets or in cars,” Rauch said. “There were five adults and eight children in shelters.”

According to Rauch, there were 16 homeless individuals counted in 2018.

Rauch said the volunteers looked in Oak Grove Cemetery, near the I-77 overpass, rest stops and Indian Acres Park to name just a few locations. Rauch said even though only 10 people were found on the streets that night, indications of more individuals were discovered.

“There was evidence of people,” she said. “We found trash and other signs.”

Rauch said the data collected is sent to the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. According to its website, the group is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to ending homelessness and to promoting decent, safe, fair, affordable housing for all, with a focus on assisting low-income and special needs populations.

“They inform the (Ohio) legislature about homelessness in the state. The information is used to back up their position,” Rauch said.

She said the coalition’s lobbying helps increase funding to fight homelessness, including money that goes to her organization’s two homeless programs.

“The first is the homeless crisis response program,” she said. “It helps people who are homeless or facing homelessness with rent or connecting them with services to help them.

The second program is the supportive services for veteran families,” she said.

Rauch said the program works closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs to make sure homeless veterans and their families have access to all the programs available to them because of their service.

Lieutenant Elisha Moretz of the Salvation Army in Marietta said even though his organization helped with the count in January, he wants people to understand there are many different types of homelessness.

“We helped a transient girl recently. She got stuck here and was trying to get back to her home in Montana,” he said. “She had a bus ticket for the next day and was just going to stay at the bus station overnight.”

Moretz said they paid for her to stay at a local hotel until her bus left the next day.

“Even if somebody can’t afford or find somewhere to stay one night, that is still homelessness,” he said.

Moretz said the Salvation Army does pay for people to stay a single night in hotels, if they have a plan for the next day.

He said others they have helped have had plans to stay with friends or family or to relocate to a shelter the following day.

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio did not return calls on Friday.

For more information about the Washington-Morgan Community Action’s homelessness programs call 740-373-3745 or visit their website at wmcap.org.