Jericho Road to conduct homeless count

Some are scared when they see a few people show up with clipboards.

Some want to sit down and tell you their life story.

Some have suffered from substance abuse while others are disabled.

Some have jobs and others stand on street corners holding signs.

Bruce Gimbel and his volunteers at Jericho Road Ministries encounter a variety when they do their annual homeless count.

"It's just like the general population," he said. "You get a mixed pot."

Gimbel started the head count about five years ago. Results are sent to the state and federal governments.

Government agencies fund programs that provide transitional housing and relief for the homeless. The leading program that offers those services in Hernando County is Jericho Ministries.

The next annual count will take place Sunday.

"Each year a group of us go out and kind of review where the homeless are living or camping," he said. "We have a pretty good idea of where they are."

Gimbel and others have gotten a jump-start on the count this year. They have taken surveys and information at local soup kitchens and food pantries. They will cross check their data and make sure the numbers are accurate and no one is counted twice, he said.

Information they try to get from homeless people include name, age, date of birth, sex, single or married, military service, race, employee status, disability and how long have they been without shelter, Gimbel said.

The amount of information he and volunteers obtain varies from person to person.

"Some people are not interested in giving any information, in which case we just give a head count," Gimbel said.

Last year's head count was at 185 people, according to the Mid-Florida Homeless Coalition. It went down compared to previous surveys. It reached 221 in January 2007, Gimbel said.

Coalition spokeswoman Barbara Wheeler said the federal government defines homeless as anyone "living in places not meant for human habitation."

That would include wooded areas, garages, backyards, emergency shelters and transitional housing.

The state recently amended its definition to include more families struggling economically and living in houses belonging to family members, friends or anyone else willing to give them temporary shelter, Wheeler said.

Homeless people who choose to camp prefer to live where they can't be seen. Law enforcement can disrupt their way of life, so they don't always greet visitors with enthusiasm, Gimbel said.

"Their first responsibility is concern for their own safety in terms of people not knowing where they're camping," he said. "We try to alleviate their fear that we're going to tell people where they are."

Homeless people generally like to live in the thick woods and within walking distance of retail centers, he said. Some have part-time jobs while others like to hold signs where there is traffic. Some retail areas also have services available for homeless people and they like to be close to where they can get food, water and clothing, Gimbel said.

The county's emergency management agency is collecting donations for Jericho Road, mainly because so many resources were depleted following the cold snap earlier this month.

Donated items can be dropped off at 18900 Cortez Blvd. in Brooksville. Coffee, cooking oil, dairy products, first-aid supplies, clothes, toiletries and dish soap are among the items being collected.

For more information, call 352-540-6780.