"Connecticut Counts" helps homeless

New Haven (WTNH) - In a group called "Connecticut Counts," volunteers from across the state are fanning out in cities and towns trying to get an accurate count of the state's homeless.

With a 13 percent increase in the number of homeless families from 2007 to 2008, unfortunately finding folks is not that difficult.

But the count is necessary in order for the state to get money to offer supportive housing.

Raw nights are reminders of how nice it is to be indoors. It is the perfect excuse to hide from winter's wrath.

But Debbie Fisk is not hiding. Nor is her colleague Joe Parente. They are on a mission, visiting some of New Haven's darkest, dirtiest places, searching for the homeless. There is nothing sweet about home in many cases.

"This looks like a place an animal would live," Fisk said pointing to a homeless person's abode. "This is a dog cage, and you wouldn't know someone was sleeping in there until you saw the hat, two hats there, and the sleeping bag."

The pair are among more than 100 volunteers blanketing the city trying to get a count of the city's homeless. They look under bridges, they search in snow-covered fields and even train stations.

"I found a couple of people in Union Station, one person a seasonal laborer, who doesn't have work right now," Fisk said.

The data collected is used to apply for federal funding for shelters and supportive housing. "Coming out and meeting people and seeing how they are living and where they are living, is often shocking," Parente said.

This effort has an important purpose had it been any night. But on a raw night, it seems the quest becomes even more essential.

"I've been doing this work for about 14 years and it's an opportunity to have gratitude for what we have;, warm place to sleep," Fisk said. "Puts things in perspective; an opportunity to actually help people."