GHURA releases preliminary homeless count

by Jolene Toves

Guam - The Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority is releasing what they've got so far from the recent count of the island's homeless population. Preliminary results from the homeless count conducted on January 25 have been compiled. 

GHURA director Michael Duenas said, "The count revealed that we have about 1,270 individuals that are homeless of those 1,270, the vast majority of them 1,145 individuals are living in the streets or in substandard housing."  Duenas adds that a lot of the individuals were found living in the jungle areas of Dededo and Yigo, living in tents and canopies.

When it came to the amount of individuals utilizing shelters, he said, "We identified that there are 125 individuals living in shelters there is a drop in that count simply because there are fewer shelters operating at this point."

Despite speculation there may be a rise in Guam's homeless population. According to Duenas, this may not be the case. "I think what we are seeing is that these individuals are far from wanting to stay away from the public view are now basically just standing out there along the streets and so that may be why the public may wonder why we are seeing more homeless," he said.

Duenas adds that from the preliminary results they have identified that there has been an increase in the amount of homeless individuals in the Hagatna area, but overall the results have not shown an increase in the amount of homeless on the island. The final results of the count are still pending evaluation and should be available in March.

The count is mandated as part of HUD's funding requirements for its Continuum of Care Grant.