BALTIMORE — "Along your route you should be looking for individuals who are experiencing homelessness."
This is the mission given to more than 200 volunteers Sunday night who packed out the meeting spot "Our Daily Bread."
It's the most volunteers the city's seen in recent memory for the annual Point-In-Time count, a two-day affair where teams canvass across the city making contact with people without permanent housing.
Not only does it provide a snapshot of how many are experiencing homelessness in Baltimore, but it also connects them to resources going beyond the provided survey questions, according to the Mayor's Office of Homeless Services Director Ernestina Simmons.
"What you're seeing tonight is just a reflection of what we know we need to do," says Simmons.
"We need to show up for people. We need to show up with kindness, dignity, respect, and understanding that resources are needed."
"I'm their voice to make sure that each and every one of them will be safe and in housing," says Mark Council, a volunteer.
This goes beyond service for Mark.
Having been without housing himself, he knows just how important this night can be.
"I know that this can work to give people a start that they're afraid to mention, like, 'Hey, I need help.' I really ask for help but don't really know how and where to get it."
Data collected during the count also helps the city secure federal funding, and though only required every two years, it is completed annually.
Over the past five years in Baltimore City, homelessness has fallen 30%, which Simmons credits to the work of community-based providers.
Last year, more than half of the people counted were men, the majority were Black or African American, and 35% were between the ages of 35 and 54.
However, Ellis Lee, project coordinator for the Continuum of Care Program, says homelessness can affect anyone at any time.
"One paycheck. One medical episode. One bad day, and it can be everything taken from you, and you don't know what that looks like," says Lee.
"You don't know if you're on somebody's couch, you don't know if you're in somebody's shelter, or you don't know if you're in the street."
Though it's an exhaustive effort, the pit count can be an imperfect system.
"I'm hoping that HUD change their policy and that we count everybody that's out there we know is out there," says Council.
"Some people really don't want to be going to housing and the shelters; sad as it may sound, they feel as though it's a lot safer out there than in here. They have to be better."
The count continues on Monday night.
