Volunteers start count of unhoused Billings residents [Video]

BILLINGS – About 50 volunteers from various organizations hit the streets Thursday night to get a better idea of how many homeless residents are living on Billings streets.

The “Point in Time” count is an annual survey that helps determine funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“They go out and find people that are living in a place that’s not habitable for humans, or staying in a shelter, or transitional housing, or a hotel that’s paid for by an agency. They survey them because that is how HUD determines how much funding comes to the state of Montana that goes directly back to these services and organizations,” says Kody Christensen with the Downtown Billings Alliance.

Last year the survey counted around 600 unhoused individuals in Billings.

“Generally, every year we see a little bit of an increase just because of what’s happening in the world. We …