Photos and video by Monique Camarena
On one windy day in January, Del Norte Health and Human Services and local organizations came together to gather data, provide support, and spread love to Del Norte’s homeless community at the county’s annual Point In Time Count.
This year’s PIT count was held in the Del Norte County Fairgrounds Main Building on Jan. 27, where those considered unhoused could take a 5-minute anonymous survey and receive free meals, backpacks, clothes, showers and many more resources. Even free haircuts!
A Point in Time Count provides a snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. From the surveys taken, organizations can understand the demographics and needs that need to be met.
Founder of Del Norte Mission Possible Daphne Cortese-Lambert
According to the founder of Del Norte Mission Possible, Daphne Cortese-Lambert, the count may represent only a fraction of the county’s homeless population. Over 600 may have attended past years’ events, but she said that the number may be closer to 2,000. Many people reside in encampments in the wetlands or “Swamps” of Del Norte, and may not be able to make their way into Crescent City to attend, according to Cortese Lambert.
Cortese-Lambert and her team came to the PIT Count to assist participants in filling out the survey, refer them to resources, and to simply “spread hope.”
“All the organizations in the community that are helping organizations have come together to make this event possible, ” Cortese-Lambert said. “We’re just connecting people to services, and mostly, spreading hope. That’s what we like to do.”
According to the NorCal Continuum of Care’s 2020 Point in Time Report, “the information gathered enables each community to better allocate housing resources and services in order to prevent and end homelessness…The data collected also serves as a measure for how the community is resolving homelessness and provides the federal and state government information to determine funding needs and eligibility.”
According to the same report, Del Norte County counted 248 homeless individuals with 183 unsheltered and 65 sheltered. Of the 248, 128 were male, 65 were female, and one was transgender. Additional demographics show how many were chronically homeless, previously in foster care, victims of domestic violence, felony convicted, had veteran status, and if they were youth from 18 to 24 or children under 18.
Cortese-Lambert noted that some of the questions in the survey ask how long the individual has been homeless and how long they have lived in the community.
“When we find out the results, what is very eye opening is finding out that individuals grew up here ,” she said. “There’s a misconception that people are just coming here and this homeless population is just from travelers. When in fact, it’s people who grew up here. The lack of fishing, lumber, the high cost of living- those kinds of things really affect our locals. So the unhoused are our neighbors.”
Del Norte’s homeless population has grown steadily since the first PIT Count. According to NorCal Continuum of Care’s 2023 PIT report, 694 individuals were counted that year, 532 unsheltered and 162 sheltered. Additional statistics resulting from the report involved COVID-19, mental health, drug abuse, eviction, and family breakups.
Along with Mission Possible, Del Norte Open Door’s Mobile Services, Del Norte Senior Center’s mobile shower program, and the Yurok Tribal Wellness Court’s mobile laundry program were stationed outside the fairgrounds’ main building.
Del Norte Open Door Receptionist Dryden Willson
At Open Door’s Mobile Services, receptionist Dryden Willson helped participants with medication referrals while collaborating with Mission Possible in sharing resources. They also gave out nutrition shakes, basic first aid kits, and clothes donated by staff and the community.
“[The homeless] are more unfortunate than most people,” Willson said. “So I think it’s important to help them out. They’re people just like us. They have hearts, we have hearts.”
Along with a warm shower, Del Norte Senior Center’s mobile shower program offered clothes, socks, hygiene kits, and referrals to Mission Possible’s services.
“I just don’t like seeing people in bad spots,” shower program manager Michael Patton told Redwood Voice. “I always like seeing people get help. I don’t like seeing people in the streets.”
Yurok Tribal Wellness Court Outreach Counselor Michael Burton
The Yurok Tribal Wellness Court’s laundry program came equipped with a washer, dryer, pre-wash station, and two showers.
The day after Del Norte’s Point in Time event, the Yurok Tribe Wellness Court hosted its first Point in Time Count in Klamath, according to Outreach Counselor Michael Burton.
“We just want to show what resources we have and what resources that everybody else in the community has to offer, ” Burton said.
“[The homeless] are so underserved and so deserving,” he said. “People just need a chance, you know an opportunity, and a lot of times, it’s just not there. I mean [there’s] the housing shortage and the communities that just haven’t been given help. And I think that’s a big part of it —that people are taken advantage of and are just not given the opportunity to help themselves. I know some people want help and some want to help themselves. But when doors are closed and there are few opportunities, it makes it even more difficult. And I think it’s one of the big reasons why I’m helping.”
It was seasoned hairstylists Cindy Ashton and Troy Lea’s first time volunteering at Del Norte’s PIT Count. They said they both enjoyed their time giving fresh haircuts, and the recipients were also very appreciative.
Ashton, who is also a claims resolution coordinator for Partnership HealthPlan, was joined by even other Partnership staff members who came to volunteer and share information about the insurance, including Northwest Regional Director Vicki Klakken.
Partnership HealthPlan Northwest Regional Director Vicki Klakken
One matter Klakken wanted to bring to light was their campaign for immigrants with an unsatisfactory immigration status (UIS) who have Partnership or Medi-Cal. They may be currently facing an enrollment freeze that became effective Jan. 1.
“Those with a UIS status: it is very important that they keep their Partnership Health Plan or their Medi-Cal Health Plan, because there is an enrollment freeze,” Klakken said. “And so those that lose coverage may not be able to get back on Medi-Cal.”
When it came to serving the homeless community, Klakken said that “it’s important to help everyone.”
“Today we’re focusing on those that are unhoused, and we want to make sure that they remain healthy, that they have all of their essentials,” she said. “It’s important that we pay attention to them because, at the end of the day, if we are not taking care of our community, it affects everyone.”
The official numbers from this year’s PIT count are expected to be released in June, according to DHHS Behavioral Health Deputy Director Shiann Hogan.
