Town’s homeless count totals 57

Two Vietnam veterans, two active-duty servicemen and a homeless man were among the small contingent that toured the town for homeless people early Friday morning.

Meeting them outside Jack in the Box at 7 were Ramona resident Kaye Kelley, who participated in the count for the third year, Pastor Mark Baker with Light of the Lamb Ministry, and several others who volunteered through theTown’s homeless count totals 57

Joe Minervini, coordinator of the Ramona count, reported a final tally of 57 homeless: 32 individuals, three vehicles housing people, and 22 hand-built structures/shelters.

“Mark Baker was a real asset in this year’s count,” Minervini said in his report to Megan Black, who coordinated the regional “point-in-time” WeAllCount effort. “He knew where many of the homeless are located.”

Minervini was unaware of how many volunteers had registered to assist with the count until Friday.

“Next time, if you could give the Ramona Count coordinator the email addresses earlier in the game, he/she could coordinate much earlier and better organize the count effort,” he suggested in his report.

Minervini, a Vietnam veteran, divided the volunteers into groups that covered specific sections of town.

Dave Patterson, also a Vietnam veteran, and Jon “Cowboy” Ferlet, who is homeless, walked from behind Kmart to 10th Street and counted about 16 makeshift shelters. Kelley and U.S. Navy Chief Wiley Nowling worked as a team, and Minervini and Baker rode around town in a vehicle.

“The westerly portion of the (Santa Maria) Creek, walked by Patterson, was passable, but the easterly portion, walked by Kaye Kelley and Chief Wiley, was flooded, wet and not walkable,” reported Minervini. “I think that’s why we found most of our homeless in town.”

Whether the count of 57 is all of the homeless in Ramona is uncertain.

“In the rural areas like Ramona, trying to find homeless in the ‘bush’ is a waste of time unless you know where to look for them, like Mark Baker can do,” noted Minervini. “The homeless in rural areas hide, camouflage themselves, their campsites.”

Makeshift shelters, vehicles and abandoned homes are among places the volunteers found homeless people. Two men arrived at Collier Park to be counted, and a woman and three or four of her grandchildren live in a vehicle, said Minervini.

Minervini, Kelley and Nowling have participated in the count the past three years. Until they started, the regional task force did not conduct a homeless count in Ramona.

Homeless veterans are the reason Minervini started.

“I wanted to help the homeless veterans in Ramona,” he said. “Maybe we can help them out.”

Results of the annual homeless census help determine how much federal money pays for homeless services.

“The more homeless we count in Ramona could equate to more funding for organizations who receive their funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” Minervini said before the Jan. 29 count. “Simply put, it is the goal of our Ramona Count volunteers to get increased funding for organizations such as the Ramona Food and Clothes Closet to help the homeless in Ramona.”

A U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton also participated in the Ramona count, said Minervini, noting he was among the volunteers who interviewed the homeless who agreed to be interviewed.