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Ruby Thomas spends her days wandering the streets of downtown Frederick and her nights keeping warm in the county’s cold weather shelter.

At 54 years old, Thomas is homeless and said she is unable to hold a job because she suffers from high anxiety and other chronic health problems. She is part of a county population that spends its days roaming the streets, foraging for free meals, and living in the shadows basically unnoticed with no place to go.

Hoping for a better life, Thomas agreed Jan. 25 to participate in a survey intended to count how many people live on the streets.

The annual “Point In Time Count” was organized throughout the nation by counties and homeless advocates to identify the number of people living on the streets, in shelters and transitional housing. Using the numbers, they plan to lobby Congress for funding to care for the homeless.

“I think this is very helpful,” Thomas said, standing outside the Bread of Life Church in downtown Frederick. “They need to know so they can give [the homeless] the help they need.”

In 2011, the Homeless Coalition of Frederick County in their Point In Time Count survey found 280 homeless people, which included men, women and children. The numbers for this year will be made available in March.

Armed with survey sheets, volunteers with the Frederick Community Action Agency fanned out around the county in the early morning hours intending to visit areas that the homeless typically gather during the day. They planned to spend the day speaking with the homeless willing to participate. The Community Action Agency serves the homeless and the poor with food, health care, shelter and other programs.

The questions on the survey included health issues, military status, any sources of income, history of domestic violence, name, gender and age.

“A lot of folks [homeless] have participated in this before, and that’s unfortunate,” said Todd Johnson, assistant director for the Community Action Agency, referring to the fact that many people remain homeless. “They’re used to these questions. It has not been difficult getting this information.”

The information collected will be sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the 2005 Homelessness Housing and Assistance Act, which requires each county to conduct the study. It will then go to Congress, so lawmakers can use the information to determine what homeless services are needed and where.

“It influences how Congess spends its money on homeless,” Johnson said.

For that reason, volunteers were eager to track down the homeless.

“I work at the food bank most of the time,” said David Fournier, a volunteer from AmeriCorps and a 2011 graduate of Hood College in Frederick. “So far, this has been a great experience.”

Under the direction of team leader Michelle Petersen, with the Community Action Agency, Fournier approached Thomas as she smoked a cigarette outside the Bread of Life Church in downtown Frederick. Thomas was waiting with a handful of other homeless people for the start of a morning Bible study class.

Thomas told Fournier that she “once had a home,” but is now homeless and unable to work.

Larry Manuel, 43, told Petersen that he has been living on the streets since Nov. 17 because he was unable to pay his rent. He now spends his nights in the cold weather shelter and his mornings at the church.

Manuel credits the Bible study class in helping him to deal with chronic depression. “It really helps fill a void,” he said. “It’s a good way to spend a day. I’m very grateful. I would be lost without it.”

sgreenfield@gazette.net