Project Homeless Connect was held Thursday in the West Plains Civic Center to connect the area’s unhoused and inadequately sheltered individuals with resources for assistance. The event is held annually on the day following the Point in Time count, held each January to count the number of unhoused people in a single night, usually during one of the coldest times of the year.
Homeless Connect in particular serves as an opportunity for people to be put in touch with agencies that can direct them to needed housing and employment opportunities and other social services.
Participants started by signing in and answering a brief survey about their housing status and were paired with a volunteer who helped them navigate the dozens of tables set up and staffed with service providers. A hot lunch was also served. Organizations providing services and giveaways included churches, healthcare providers, the Veterans Administration, Division of Family Services and the Office of Workforce Development.
The event was held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and by about 11:15 a.m., there had been as many as 100 participants, according to Ozark Action Transitional Services Assistant Cindy Brower.
The data collected will be submitted to the Missouri Balance of State Continuum of Care (MBOSCOC), a group of agencies whose purpose is to end homelessness in Missouri. The data will be compiled to assess progress toward that goal and identify those individuals that remain underserved.
Howell County is part of MBOSCOC's Region 8, comprised of Howell, Ozark, Douglas, Wright, Laclede, Texas, Dent, Oregon and Shannon counties.
In 2023, the latest year data is available, the statewide housing inventory count showed 3,569 beds available statewide, with 2,773 of them occupied.
The numbers are based on Point in Time data provided by organizations that offer beds and units to people without permanent housing, and includes beds considered emergency shelter, transitional housing, safe havens, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing.
Of those beds, 40% were emergency shelter, 31% permanent supportive housing, 10% each for rapid rehousing and transitional housing, and 9% for other permanent housing. None of them were considered safe haven housing.
Of facilities counted, 52% were considered adult-only households, 47% were a mix of adult and child households and 2% were child-only households.
Region 8 showed the highest percentage statewide of emergency shelter at 70%, with the balance made of 22% placement in permanent supportive housing and 8% in rapid rehousing, but no shelter offered in transitional housing, other permanent housing, or safe haven housing. It should be noted, however, that safe haven housing is only offered in one region of the state's 10.
There were a total of 200 beds offered in Region 8 during 2023, and of those, about 110 were for adult-only households and about 90 were for adult and child households, with no beds for child-only households. Of the 10 regions, only three offer beds for child-only households.
The Point in Time count for 2023 indicated statewide there were 1,792 people reported as homeless, with 1,102 of them considered sheltered and 690 unsheltered, meaning they were staying in vehicles, on the streets, in encampments or in other places not intended as housing.
Of those reported as homeless, 50% were in emergency shelters, 11% were in transitional housing and 39% were unsheltered.
In Region 8, of the 127 people reported as unsheltered during the Point in time Count, about 32 were staying in emergency shelter and about 95 were considered unsheltered. Five regions reported higher totals and four reported lower, but MBOSCOC noted a comparatively higher percentage of unsheltered individuals in Region 8.
Areas where MBOSCOC pointed out its goals had not been met during the 2022 to 2023 data collection period, statewide, included an increase of sheltered homelessness of 5%; an increase of unsheltered homelessness of 33%; an increase in family homelessness of 13%; by 27% among veterans (from 21 to 59 individuals); and an increase in chronic homelessness of 58%.
Progress was reportedly made in reducing racial disparity among Missouri's Black, African American or African population regarding homelessness, who in 2020 made up 4.2% of the Missouri Balance of State population, based on U.S. Census records. In 2023 18% of that population was considered homeless while in 2022 it was 19%.
Mixed results were noted in youth homelessness, with a decrease in homelessness among youths accompanied by a parent of 11% but an increase among youths unaccompanied by a parent of 22%.
