By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-882360.mp3
Lansing, MI – Lansing social services providers will be on the streets tonight to count and care for the homeless. It's part of an annual survey that determines federal funding for homelessness treatment programs.
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Volunteers of America is organizing this year's count. Staff members have been checking databases for existing records of the homeless, and talking with people in places like hospitals and libraries. The most intensive field work begins late tonight, when teams will seek out people on the streets.
Patrick Patterson is vice-president of operations for the VOA in Lansing.
"We're bringing information about resources that are available, their locations and how to access those services," Patterson says. "And we're trying to build a relationship. Because someone's homeless, it doesn't mean they trust a stranger who approaches with a flashlight and a clipboard and says they want to help."
Officials will also survey those at imminent risk of homeless. That includes people on the verge of eviction or whose unemployment benefits are expiring.