Over 3,000 People Volunteered To Help Count New York City’s Homeless

NEW YORK — Drew Cochran, 18, grew up in the “middle of nowhere” Idaho, where he said he rarely — if ever — saw a homeless person on the street.

So it was an eye-opening experience to walk beneath the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan just after midnight on Tuesday, he said, and see the city’s indigent wrapped up in sleeping bags as temperatures dipped below freezing.

Cochran was one of 3,500 volunteers who combed the streets of all five boroughs from midnight to 4 a.m. Tuesday as part of the city’s Homeless Outreach Population Estimate, an annual effort to count the thousands of New Yorkers who spend their nights without shelter, sleeping on the streets or in the subways.

Cochran was also one of 30 West Point cadets who took a van into the city to participate in the count.

Teams were instructed to simply walk up to people and ask if they had a place to stay. (Photo: Marc Janks)

West Point cadet Kevin Colton, 20, was a member of Cochran’s and Bryan’s team. When asked if he was disappointed that his group didn’t talk to more people, he responded that it would be “weird to say I wish there’d be more homeless people.”

Also, he noted, “It’s not about us.”

The team after returning from the count. From left to right, Tina Mckenzie, Dominic Savoldelli, Kevin Colton, Kenya Bryan, and Drew Cochran. (Photo: Marc Janks)

The Huffington Post