PORTLAND — The city of Portland will count the number of its homeless residents.

With the help of local, state and federal partners, Maine’s largest city will be searched Wednesday evening to determine how many men, women and children are homeless. Point-in-Time surveys of those people will help identify who is homeless, what factors led to becoming homeless, and what can the city and state do to prevent homelessness.

Teams will conduct the surveys at one of the seven shelters within the city and search a number of outdoor locations to try and locate individuals living on the streets.

The Point in Time Survey is a federal Housing and Urban Development requirement for certain funding. Portland receives $3.1 million from HUD for employment assistance, job training, supportive housing development and emergency shelters.