Room at the Inn records 85 people on night of Point In Time Count

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Room at the Inn recorded 85 people during the night of the Point In Time Count, a national event where authorities are required to record the number of homeless people living in an area.

The Point in Time Count is a census of those who are unhoused on a single night. According to the Missouri Balance of State Continuum of Care website, this count is done by every community across the nation at some point during the last 10 days of January, at least every other year.

Training sessions were held earlier this month for those looking to help with the count. This year’s count began at 5 p.m. Wednesday and concludes at 7 a.m. Thursday. Data is broken down by 10 regions in the state, with much of Mid-Missouri being represented in Region 5.

Executive Director of the Room at the Inn John Trapp said it's important to receive an accurate number on the count because the federal government uses it to distribute community block grants. Trapp said he believes some grants are used toward low-income housing and can also be used toward vouchers to get people into existing housing supply.

Trapp believes the unhoused population in Columbia has increased since last year, which is why this year's count is just as important as ever.

"We have a problem with affordable housing, locally," Trapp said. "So, our numbers continue to increase. So the more funds we can put towards them, the more folks we can get off the street."

The 85 people mark a slight increase from last year's count at Room at the Inn, in which Trapp said the center recorded 69 people.