Even in affluent Chester County, a survey finds hundreds homeless

On a cold night late last month, 666 people in one of the nation's most affluent counties were homeless, Chester County officials said Monday.

A report compiled by the Chester County Department of Community Development was derived from the 2012 Point-in-Time Count, a national effort sponsored by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to quantify the homeless. The count was conducted the night of Jan. 25 and morning of Jan. 26, the report said.

The homeless included individuals and families in emergency shelters and transitional shelters, as well as unsheltered individuals on the street or in places not meant for sleeping, said Pat Bokovitz, director of the county's Department of Community Development.

In Chester County, 419 adults without children and 72 families, with 223 total members, were in shelters. Last year, 709 individuals were in shelters. The report also found 24 people on the streets: 16 in West Chester; four in the Exton, Paoli and Malvern area; three in Kennett Square; and one in Phoenixville.

The number of individuals in families that were homeless in 2011 was 205, 18 fewer people than in 2012; however, the number of people in families experiencing homelessness has risen. Bokovitz said the figure might represent an improved ability to track the homeless rather than an actual increase.

He said the county has done the count for at least seven years and constantly makes changes to improve the results. More than 100 volunteers from government, educational, and civic groups participated, including five AmeriCorps' VISTA teams, which conducted surveys with residents at the 10 emergency shelters in Chester County.

In addition, former shelter residents assisted with the count, providing firsthand insight, Bokovitz said. He said the volunteers also provided the homeless with supplies such as food and blankets.

In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked Chester County, with a per-capita income of nearly $85,000, the 24th-wealthiest county in the nation, but officials point out that such statistics do not mean the county has no disadvantaged residents.

Bokovitz said the Point-in-Time Count is one component of understanding homelessness in Chester County so that it can be prevented.

"Raising awareness is an important part of the process," he said, adding that data from the count help to tailor proactive housing-assistance programs. "Ultimately, we don't want to rely on shelters."