As local officials work on ways to reduce homelessness in Johnson County, a recent count of the homeless population helps illustrate how big of a problem it is.
The annual Point-in-Time count found 38 homeless individuals living in the county. The results, released Thursday by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, come from a tabulation of the homeless taken on Jan. 27.
That day, social agencies throughout Johnson County tallied clients and people they worked with to determine who was homeless.
A wide majority — 71 percent — of the homeless people counted were adults over the age of 24. Only three people counted were under the age of 18, and eight were between 18 and 24.
The Point-in-Time count is a nationwide effort organized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to track homelessness. Every county that receives federal funding to aid the homeless was asked to spend one day tallying the number of people without homes. Indiana does the count every year.
Throughout the state, the Point-in-Time count has shown that Indiana’s homeless population is decreasing. Since 2010, homelessness is down 10 percent, said Lt. Governor Eric Holcomb, who serves as the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority board chair.
