Annual count of state's homeless called off due to COVID-19

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RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Organizers of South Dakota's annual point-in-time count for the state’s unsheltered homeless population have cancelled the effort this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sara Hornick, Rapid City-area coordinator of homeless services for Volunteers of America, said the count was called off mainly because of a shortage of volunteers, lack of personal protective equipment and concerns about the spread of COVID-19. She said the vulnerable homeless population is quite large, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development decided against the count, the Rapid City Journal reported.

Hornick said she's not sure how the cancellation will affect federal funding because of all the allowances in place this year because of the virus.

The January 2020 count showed Rapid City had 353 total homeless with 192 unsheltered and 161 sheltered.