Volunteers are needed to assist with the annual Homeless ‘Point in Time’ Count to be conducted on Jan. 29.

The count is a nationwide event which takes place in January. It is an effort to find how many individuals are homeless in each county.

This year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is requiring communities to seek out and count unsheltered people who are sleeping in places “unfit for human habitation,” such as in parks or on the street in addition to those residing in shelters.

Communities nationwide are in the midst of recruiting and training volunteers to conduct these unsheltered counts.

To volunteer for the South Whidbey count, contact Island County Housing Resource Coordinator Joanne Pelant at 360-678-7962 or Good Cheer Food Bank’s Community Outreach Coordinator Shawn Nowlin at 360-221-0130.