By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

There are homeless people living in Hays and Ellis County.

“It’s not a big homeless problem,” according to Linda Mills, regional coordinator of the Hays Homeless Coalition. “It’s different–different than what exists in urban areas and more populous states.”

“You don’t really see people living under bridges in Hays. What we have is more hidden. People are doubling up in living spaces with other people or ‘couch surfing,'” Mills explained.

The annual “Point In Time” count began Thursday and continues Friday at the Hays Public Library and at several agencies, including First Care Clinic and First Call for Help. The federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department requires that Continuums of Care conduct an annual count of homeless persons who are sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens on a single night.

Volunteers are surveying the public and asking questions about where they spent the night Wed., Jan. 25. The survey is voluntary and individuals can opt out of answering any question. No personal information is collected.

When the random survey was conducted in 2015, out of the 50 people participating, “five were literally homeless,” Mills said. “Another 22 people were staying in motels where someone else had paid the bill.”

There is no homeless shelter in Hays or in the 18 counties of northwest Kansas. The nearest homeless shelter is 90 miles away in Salina and “sometimes we put people on the bus to Salina,” she said.

There are no services available locally for the homeless although there are some programs for homeless veterans. There is no local transitional housing.

Homeless people often have other problems, including mental illness, drug abuse or chronic unemployment which also need to be addressed, Mills said. “HUD, which focuses on veterans, works first to get them into housing, a roof over their heads.”

The collected information will be entered into the Kansas MAAClink database, the Mid America Assistance Coalition, compiled into a statewide report, shared with the Kansas Statewide Homeless Association and submitted to HUD.

The county-specific results will be used when applying for federal and state housing grants.