GREENFIELD — A headcount of homeless individuals living in Franklin County is underway as Community Action Pioneer Valley takes on the annual Point-in-Time Count.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) asks the community organizations and departments that work closely with homeless individuals, offering support and resources, to count the number of people that were without shelter on a specific night in January. The Point-in-Time Count is documenting individuals who were homeless on Jan. 29.

The data is used to analyze trends in homelessness over time and is also used to inform allocation of funding to areas that need the most support. The 2024 count found that the number of homeless people in Franklin County had more than doubled, documenting that 252 people were sleeping in shelters or outside compared to 104 in January 2023.

In Greenfield, members of Community Action Pioneer Valley’s Youth Action Board set up a table at the Greenfield Public Library on Friday. They offered warm clothes, coffee, hot cocoa and snacks to those who came in to be surveyed or wanted to learn more about the Youth Action Board.

The board meets virtually on Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. to discuss the programs it supports. The board welcomes anyone ages 14 to 24, and primarily focuses on youth homelessness support programs.

The board is having a drop-in session on Thursday, Feb. 6, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 154 Federal St. in Greenfield for anyone interested in joining to see what they do and ask questions.

Counters have until Friday, Feb. 14, to submit Point-in-Time surveys to the Three County Continuum of Care, a program of Community Action that is committed to ending homelessness in Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties. Then the data will be relayed to HUD.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.