Aiken County could see bigger rise than ever in homeless total
AIKEN, S.C (WRDW/WAGT) - Aiken County is set to be on track to have more people without homes than in the past.
The county is wrapping up its annual “point in time,” or PIT, count.
While numbers are not yet finalized, officials say what they’re seeing isn’t positive.
Homeless encampments are seen in the woods throughout the county from Clearwater all the way through Aiken.
Officials say they are breaking down the surveys and they’re well on pace to go over the 140 surveys they did last year.
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“We see numerous, lots of them. And then we’ve taken a walk down the embankment, over into there, and it’s just tents set up everywhere,” said Sheila Hendrickson, who lives in Aiken County.
Hendrickson says it’s eye-opening seeing her community struggle over time.
“To see it right here in my back door, front door, is just incredible. I mean, it just saddens me. It breaks my heart to see that many people,” said Hendrickson.
PIT Coordinator Diane Saunders says their final numbers may not fully represent the true needs of the county.
She says factors like the recent cold weather and people’s declining participation play a role, but it doesn’t change the trends they’re seeing.
“Our numbers are very close to what we had last year, and that’s extremely high, considering some of them were in a warming station, and we can’t count the warming stations or, you know, they stayed with a friend, but they were back out on the street the next night,” said Saunders.
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Saunders says what’s even more concerning is the growing amount of people experiencing chronic homelessness or people with a disabling condition experiencing homelessness for an extended period of time.
It’s a growing number Hendrickson and PIT officials hope the county pays attention to.
“I pray for them every day, and I hope that somebody does something to help them,” said Hendrickson.
Saunders says the final numbers will be submitted by Friday to the Midlands Area Consortium for the Homeless, or MACH.
They will the numbers for the U.S. Department of Urban Development And local governments to assess for future funding.
Aiken County is projected to have the highest homeless population numbers compared to other counties in MACH.
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