Blair Co. officials preparing for annual homeless population count; volunteers welcome

Blair Co., PA (WJAC) — The Blair County Community Action Program is getting ready to conduct its annual count of homeless people in the area.

The count, which will take place on Wednesday, is a requirement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD takes the numbers and uses them to determine how much funding will be allocated to help the homeless.

The most recent report shows there are currently 250 people within the city of Altoona who are homeless.

The community action program will provide hot meals and care packages to the people they come across.

The group wants to stress that unsheltered people shouldn’t be too proud or embarrassed to come forward.

“These are just community members. We don’t see them as any less. A lot of the people who work at community action have lived the experience, that’s what makes this so important for us. We do see them as people, and we want to help them. We don’t see them as anything less than a person who needs help.”

If you're interested in helping with the count, you're asked to meet at the community action program office on Beale Ave, at 5 p.m., on the 24th.

For more information you can call 814-946-3651, extension 110.

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