Daytona Beach, FL - While the Daytona Beach City Commission meets tonight on panhandling, one organization will be counting and canvassing those without a home around Volusia & Flagler.
Spearheaded by the Volusia-Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless, this count is made to document those who currently do not have a permanent location or home around the two counties.
VFCCH began back in 2000 as a 501 c-3 non-profit corporation with a goal to to prevent homelessness.
This count, known as a "Point In Time" count, is a collaborative effort between homeless service providers such as correctional institutions, law enforcement, foster care facilities, hospitals, Department of Children and Families as well as the Veterans Administration.
The data from this count will be used to prepare the annual Governor's Report on the State of Homelessness.
Each count lasts 24 hours, with this one beginning earlier today around noon, lasting until tomorrow afternoon.
2018 BREAKDOWN
A breakdown of their 2018 numbers shows that a total of 683 people were homeless in the Volusia and Flagler Area, with Volusia carrying the majority of the homeless population.
A total of 621 people were identified as homeless during the count, with the highest concentration seen in Daytona Beach at 301 people.
DeLand came second with 149 people, Ormond Beach with 63, New Smyrna at 47, with Oak Hill, Edgewater and Port Orange sitting at nine, four, and one person, respectively.
Flagler saw only 62 reported homeless people, with the city distribution almost split down the middle with Palm Coast at 32 and Bunnell at 30.
When it came to who was sheltered and unsheltered (sheltered meaning those who live in emergency shelters or transitional housing, 406 were unsheltered while 277 had some kind of shelter.
When asked where they lived when they became homeless, 63.9% said they already lived in the Volusia Flagler area while 19.6% said they lived elsewhere in Florida and 16.5% said they lived out of state.
As for where people slept at night, 40% said they slept in the woods or at some kind of campsite, 12.6% said they slept somewhere on downtown streets with 11.6% in some kind of shelter.
A breakdown of the top three needs showed that 54.1% wanted some kind of affordable housing, with 53.6% saying they wanted some kind of shelter while 47.3% said they wanted food. (Participants of the survey may have selected more than one need, according to the VFCCH.
For the main causes of homelessness during the survey, 33.8% they were homeless due to an employment or financial reason, 21.5% said it was because of housing and 13.6% said it was because of a medical or disability related reason.
A total of 44 veterans were also identified during the count.
