The Sioux Falls Homeless Advisory Board is asking for the public’s help to identify and count the number of homeless people living in Sioux Falls. The South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium reports that last year there were 1,155 homeless people in South Dakota - including women and children.
Sioux Falls’ Homeless Advisory Board Coordinator Stacey Tieszen says homeless is generally defined as not having a permanent place to live – like living and sleeping on the streets, in a shelter, a motel, or a car.
Tieszen says volunteers are needed on Tuesday, January 28th to help the Homeless Advisory Board count the number of homeless people living in Sioux Falls.
“When you look at why we want to know this information it’s because we want to make sure that the services are being given to those families, and if we don’t know about them we obviously can’t refer them or get them to the resources,” says Tieszen
Tieszen says it’s critical to listen to the life stories of the homeless - to find out the circumstances that led to them not having a permanent place to live.
“This gives an opportunity for their voices to be heard, for their stories to be known, and for really a life-changing experience for the volunteer because they come away with things that they never knew were problems in the community or situations that they’ve never experienced,” says Tieszen.
Tieszen says volunteers will work in teams and will visit with people at locations like Labor Ready, the Union Gospel Mission, the Good Shepherd Center, and city parks. They will ask a series of pre-determined questions like, “Where did you sleep last night?”
Tieszen says helping identify and count the homeless is an opportunity to give back.
She says they also need donations of basic household necessities, winter clothing, and socks.