Oakland city officials issued a call Tuesday for 500 volunteers for the 2026 Point-in-Time Count on Jan. 22.
The PIT count is a census of people experiencing homelessness that is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The exercise takes place every two years and is led by Alameda County, with assistance from individual cities.
The city of Oakland will be responsible for counting the unsheltered individuals in Oakland, including those living in vehicles, encampments, and other locations considered uninhabitable.
The 2024 PIT count revealed that 5,485 homeless people were living in Oakland, making up 58% of the total homeless population in Alameda County. Two-thirds of the city’s homeless population was unsheltered.
“To achieve real solutions, we need real data,” Mayor Barbara Lee said during a press conference at City Hall Tuesday. “The data from this count will determine how much funding we will receive from federal, state, and county sources. An undercount will mean fewer resources.”
She also pointed out that the PIT count is crucial to understanding the demographics of homeless people in the city and the underlying causes of homelessness.
For instance, the 2024 PIT count revealed that more than half of the homeless individuals in Oakland were Black, even though Black people only make up around 22% of the city’s population.
The 2024 count also found that 80% of homeless individuals surveyed in Oakland were residing in Alameda County before becoming homeless, contrary to the belief that the homelessness crisis is fueled by individuals coming from other parts of the state or the country.
Urging Oakland residents to sign up as volunteers, City Councilmember Caroll Fife said, “For just a few hours a day, a volunteer can contribute time that will lead to tangible resources for the city of Oakland. These resources will create real solutions for our unsheltered population.”
Volunteers will work between 5 a.m. and noon on Jan. 22, and will be trained before the count. Interested individuals can find out more and register as volunteers at oaklandca.gov/PIT.
The post ‘We need real data’: Oakland needs 500 volunteers for 2026 Point-in-Time homeless count appeared first on Local News Matters.