“Good morning, homeless outreach.”
“My name’s Carl.”
On a 30-degree morning in Akron, Carl Slaton braved the elements in a sweatshirt (featuring animated TV character Zoro), pants and a hat, making his way through inches of snow. Slaton, a homeless outreach case worker with the Summit County Continuum of Care (CoC), was spending the morning of Jan. 28 taking part in the Point-in-Time Count, an annual census of the sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the United States.
As he approached each site — made up of clusters of plastic tents tucked in the woods — Slaton announced his presence, and that of his colleagues, so they wouldn’t startle the residents of the encampments, who might have still been asleep at 7:30 a.m. This year was Slaton’s eighth PIT Count, so he had the routine down.
“We really try to vocalize things, make sure everybody knows what’s going on…” Slaton said. “I won’t walk into a site without, you know, making sure that that’s OK. Because to me, that’s their property, that’s their home.”
For the most part, the count works the same every year, but in the last few years CoC has implemented a digital process for recording the number of people and vital information about them. Outreach teams used to rely on paper and pen, which meant they had to cross-check the lists for inconsistencies, such as individuals who were counted twice.
Slaton said the way CoC, and the greater community, runs outreaches today has allowed them to count more people. This year’s PIT Count had 90 volunteers covering about 40 sites, said Shana Miller, the director of community engagement for CoC.
“We’ve done a really good job of figuring out all of the different sites,” Slaton said. “We’ve increased our knowledge as a community. We’ve actually, just as a community, we’ve increased meal sites and warming centers and shelter locations, so that there’s a lot more people being counted.”
People are also more apt to be counted at another location, like a shelter or warming center, Slaton said. In January, Akron’s emergency overnight shelter on East Voris Street had more than 1600 overnight stays, Miller said.
Out in the field, Slaton is primarily connecting with people who refuse to visit the centers. People may refuse to come into the shelters for a number of reasons, some that the community does not even think of — for example, most shelters will not allow animals, so the shelter options for pet owners are limited.
As a licensed social worker, Slaton said it’s about giving clients a clear idea of what options are available and letting them decide. He explained that case workers cannot force people to come into a drop-in center. Some people may refuse, but Slaton has had clients ask for a ride to a shelter — you just roll with it, he said.
Lezley Kijowksi, a residential treatment services administrator on Slaton’s PIT Count team, said that interacting with the homeless community is about building rapport. It’s about being honest, real and not coming in with a phony agenda, she said.
“It’s always about developing the relationship,” Kijowski said. “No matter what field — if it’s homeless outreach, one-on-one counseling. No matter what, it’s always the relationship.”
And interacting with homeless people is about being open, Kijowski said — not only for social workers, but also for the community.
“Not making the assumption that someone is dangerous or violent just because they’re showing mental health symptoms,” Kijowski said. “That can be scary for people who don’t get it … open your mind a little bit and understand that they’re not trying to harm you.”
Akron homeless shelters see high number of visitors, some at maximum capacity
Overall, the shelter options in Akron are limited. The city’s emergency overnight shelter only opens during inclement weather events — like low temperatures or a winter storm — and some of the year-round shelters have requirements for staying.
For example, ACCESS Shelter is open to only women and children; Haven of Rest Ministries, a faith-based shelter, requires attendance at a chapel service to receive assistance.
And the shelters are running at maximum capacity, or close to it. ACCESS has a wait list that continuously sits at about 100 households, said Brianne Neal, the director of development.
“We are at max capacity every single night,” Neal said. “So we don’t have a bedroom that goes unslept, unless there was some unforeseen circumstance.”
At Haven of Rest, the winter months always bring more people in. Rev. Jeff Kaiser, its CEO, said they shelter about 180 people every night. Last year, the shelter had more than 51,000 stays and served more than 135,000 meals.
And while places such as the Salvation Army of Summit County do not track homelessness on intake forms, it has seen a jump in the number of people using its services, including hot meals on weekdays, showers, hygiene products and clothing items, said Director of Development Elizabeth Kargbo in an email. In the 2024 fiscal year, the Salvation Army served 58,170 hot meals. This number is up by more than 21,000 since 2023.
Annual homeless count helps organization find gaps in programming
The ultimate goal of the PIT Count is to show officials at the city, state and federal levels — particularly the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — the need for the programs CoC provides and the need for additional funding, Slaton said.
“If the numbers are going down, it means that the programs are working,” Slaton said. “And if the numbers are going up, it means the programs need more support.”
While this year’s numbers will not be finalized with HUD for several months, HUD’s annual Homelessness Assessment Report showed a 3.3% increase in homelessness from 2023. According to the report, there were 11,759 homeless people in Ohio in 2024, and 20% of this population was unsheltered.
As he chats with clients, sometimes through the zippered door of a tent, Slaton asks them a series of questions —”Did you stay here last night?” “Have you been down to the homeless outreach on East Voris Street?” “Have you ever served in the military?” “Do you have a disability?” “Any concerns with HIV or AIDS?” “Are you experiencing homelessness due to concerns of domestic violence?”
At the very least, getting the basic information allows Slaton and his team to check back in with people and build the rapport Kijowksi mentioned so they can get a picture of how to best help the clients.
“We’re basically trying to see if there’s a gap in programming or if we have specific programs that could benefit that individual,” Slaton said.
He can help connect clients with specific resources for their needs, for example, like housing that prioritizes disabled people or housing for people living with HIV. CoC teams also give clients bags with essentials such as fresh socks, gloves, hygiene products and non-perishable foods.
Homeless community at risk of being displaced
As he crossed a set of train tracks to reach the first site of the day, Slaton noted that it is technically illegal to enter some of the areas where people place their tents.
“People tend to gravitate back to certain spots just because, especially like here,” Slaton said. “You’re not too far out from your resources, but a bit out to be away from people.”
The danger of some of these sites is that people have crossed onto the tracks, or have pitched their tents too close to the tracks, and have been hit by a train, Slaton said. There are now spots along some tracks in Akron that have been blocked off in hopes of deterring people.
One of the unexpected groups looking out for homeless people are train conductors, Slaton said. They will get in touch with city officials to alert them of tents they see along their routes. And sometimes, in the summer, they will leave cases of water.
“That’s another one I’ve learned, kind of within the last couple years — I didn’t realize how much train conductors will pay attention to homeless camps,” Kijowski said.
There are times when homeless people are displaced, but not for safety reasons. In November, the City of Akron swept a homeless encampment.
The city is required to give advance notice, to allow people to clear their belongings, but they do not provide them with an alternative location.
“Then you have people going, ‘Well, what do I do?’” Slaton said. “‘There’s no housing available to me right now because it takes time.’”