BAKERSFIELD, CA. — This morning about 400 volunteers went out to the streets in Kern County to count the homeless community for the Annual Point in Time count. These volunteers gathered at the Mission of Kern County and went out around 3 a.m. this morning.

“We were assigned to the river bed all the way out to coffee it was super cold so we really had to get in the river bed to find people and there were times where were like is that someone is that not… our first one it was," said Timi Ann Mongold.

The annual count is critical to provide data for grants in state and federal funding as well as data in order to meet the specific needs of the local homeless community.

“It gives us a good idea of what’s happening locally with homelessness were able to identify trends and see if certain populations are increasing or decreasing and we can adjust programming to meet the needs."

In 2017, the annual count counted 810 people who are experiencing homelessness in Kern County. In 2018, that number jumped to 855 and the homeless collaborative is expected that number to increase again in 2019.