NORWICH — Late Tuesday night, volunteers combed the region for the point-in-time homelessness count, an annual search that compiles data about the local homeless population. Thirty-one volunteers were on the schedule to lead search teams through 23 areas in southeastern Connecticut, ranging from Waterford to Norwich.
In Norwich, teams scoured eight areas, including abandoned buildings in Greeneville and underpasses in the area of the marina.
Volunteer Gene Gagnon, 58, was leading a team through Greeneville on Tuesday night. Gagnon, who just recently moved into an apartment in Jewett City after being homeless for four years, said he is familiar with some of the local areas where homeless people may be.
If teams encounter an individual who is homeless and willing to speak to the group, volunteers will log data about the person's location and circumstances.
"I always try to look for footprints in the snow or in the mud to see if people have been traveling through the area," he said. "I understand the mentality. Some people want to be left alone and don’t want to talk to anyone. Others might need resources because they just didn’t know what their options were."
Though some volunteers like Gagnon have been joining the local effort for years, others were doing it for the first time.
Bill Louis, of Gales Ferry, volunteered with his 16-year-old daughter Victoria.
"This is a good reality check," he said. "It’s something that she hasn’t been exposed to, and frankly, I don’t know much about it either. For us, this is a learning opportunity."
The annual census also connects those experiencing homelessness with local services that could provide them support if they so choose.
According to a spokesperson from the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, which coordinates the regional event, numbers logged in January 2017 showed a third straight year of declining homelessness and the lowest homeless count recorded in Connecticut since 2007.
This is the first year volunteers are using an app to compile the data as opposed to paper surveys. Data collected will be used to determine whether initiatives and programs are having an impact on the local homeless population.
A four-person team led by Kevin Barry, of the homeless outreach program at Reliance Health, headed to the marina Tuesday night in search of individuals. The group walked a pathway beneath nearby bridges and searched the cave structure of the former Putts Up Dock Mini-Golf site. The team located a camp within the structure that included a sleeping bag, pots and pans and water bottles.
The locale was not flagged on the app since no one was there, but Barry said members of the homeless outreach team would follow up on the site in the following weeks.
Similarly, the group found several items in an area inside and behind the abandoned YMCA that led them to believe people were occupying the space.
Behind the structure, the team found several children’s toys, freshly laid cardboard and two computer chairs. Barry also was able to open an unlocked back door to the building.
Inside, the former ground-level running track was littered with clothing, shoes, food and toys. No one was located in the area.