New Bedford Homeless Count Continues Into Thursday

Volunteers are combing through the shelters and streets of New Bedford attempting to gather information from homeless people as part of the city's annual "Point-In-Time Homeless Count.

During the kickoff on Wednesday, Mayor Jon Mitchell thanked the volunteers for their efforts.

"There are a lot of people in need in our community, and its really going to take a group effort to identify those needs, to assess them and then to address them. So, we want to make sure that we're doing the best for those who are at the point in their lives where they really need help," said Mitchell.

Volunteers are fanning out all over the city, counting people living in shelters, on the street and in cars, hoping to locate and interview as many homeless people as possible.

Rev. David Lima, the Executive Minister of the Interchurch Council says when it comes to homelessness, New Bedford is not alone.

"Every city has this problem, we're not alone. But if we work together, when can accomplish more than what's happening, and we can save lives. That's the bottom line," says Rev. Lima.

The count will continue to 2pm Thursday.

Information gained from the count is used by the federal government to determine funding for agencies that assist the homeless. In New Bedford, the funding is distributed to agencies that make up the Homeless Services Provider Network.