PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — As freezing temperatures continue to hit Metro Detroit, organizations in Oakland County are getting a snapshot of the area's homeless population through the annual Point-in-Time Count, where dozens of volunteers tally the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night while providing important resources.
As Lakeesha Donaldson loaded up her car Wednesday night, she was on a mission to make a difference.
Watch Demetrios Sanders' video report below:
"It's one of the coldest times of the year. We don't want to see anyone out here freezing to death because they don't have a safe place to go, a warm place to go," Donaldson said.
Donaldson is the emergency shelter manager of Lighthouse in Pontiac. But Wednesday, she was one of dozens of volunteers involved in Oakland County's annual Point-in-Time Count.
"I feel like if I'm in this service to do it, then I need to be one of those volunteers, going out to save others," Donaldson said.
The Point-in-Time Count is a national initiative counting the sheltered and unsheltered homeless population on a night within the last 10 days of January. In Oakland County, teams of three or four volunteers went to places like parks and popular businesses where homeless individuals may hang out.
"And they'll go and literally canvass, walk outside, interview people they may come in contact with, ask if they have somewhere to stay. If they don't, they'll take them to a shelter tonight if they're interested," said Leah McCall, executive director of Alliance for Housing.
For those who decline, they receive resources like hygiene products and winter gear, including Empowerment Plan coats, which can convert into a sleeping bag.
"Because not everyone wants to come into shelter. You know, communal living or a shelter is not for everyone," Donaldson said.
Watch our previous report about Empowerment Plan coats below:
In 2024, more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness nationally during the Point-in-Time Count — an 18% increase compared to the year prior. In Oakland County, they typically expect to find several hundred people during this effort.
"Our numbers, although they seem small when we're out on this one night, we have a lot of overflow into shelters and a lot of people that could be in housing paid for by one of our federal programs or state programs," McCall said.
The count also directs where state and federal funding goes for homeless services.
"We are seeing the homeless numbers growing constantly and some time, we need to try to prevent that," Donaldson said.
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