SPRINGVALE — Stand up and be counted – please. That is the word to York County’s homeless population.

The annual Point in Time count takes place 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 28 at Seeds of Hope Center, 35 South St., Biddeford, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 29 in the parking lot of NAPA Auto Parts, 960 Main St., Sanford. In addition, some food pantries, including Saco Food Pantry, the pantry at the Sanford Salvation Army and the York County Shelters Food Pantry in Alfred, have signed up to be “count” locations.

The Point in Time survey is a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and is administered in Maine by the state Housing Authority. It’s used by federal agencies to award resources to help people help the homeless.

Which is why, said Amy Marcotte of the Sanford Vet Center and York County Military Community Network, it is so important for folks who are homeless to show up and make sure they participate in the count.

“Resources and grants are based on this specific count and ongoing shelter counts,” she said. “The count gives us a really good (sense) of what the picture looks like in York County. It allows us to plan better to address homelessness and perhaps even prevent it.”

The count includes all homeless people – veterans, non-veterans, children and adults. Organizers want to count you if you’re unsheltered, couch surfing or perhaps in some other circumstance that would define you as homeless.

Those versed in assisting people with referrals to benefits, resources and services will also be on hand, Marcotte said. As well as conducting the count, volunteers will distribute nonperishable food, winter clothing and supplies to those in need.

Among those volunteering to help count are folks from Preble Street Resources Center in Portland, Nasson Health Care in Springvale and Patriot Riders, Maine Chapter 1. While not all of the 200-strong Patriot Riders will be volunteering that day, several will, said president Bruce Knight.

Last year in Sanford, Knight and his fellow Patriot Riders went to homeless campsites to encourage those who live outside in the elements to come inside the Mobile Vet Center, be counted and get help.

A retired firefighter, Knight knew where many of the campsites were. He said convincing someone to come in out of the cold for a count isn’t always an easy task, even though last year it was bitter cold on the count day.

“Some don’t want to see anyone around; they’re happy out there by themselves and don’t want any help,” said Knight. Others suffer from mental illnesses and are reluctant to come out and take part, he added.

Last year, the Patriot Riders helped 27 homeless veterans secure a place to live or furnish and outfit an apartment, among other assistance efforts, said Knight.

This year’s count is a bit more flexible than last year’s, when the rules prevented counts at food pantries and the timespan for the mobile count was much shorter.

The 2015 Point in Time survey counted 27 homeless people in Biddeford and Sanford. In York County in 2014, 151 homeless people were counted, said Marcotte, up from 60 in 2010.

Statewide, according to the Maine State Housing Authority website, 1,134 people were identified as homeless in 2015, which meant they were classified as sleeping in emergency shelters or going unsheltered.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].

Point in Time homeless survey:

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, Seeds of Hope, 35 South St., Biddeford 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, NAPA Auto Parts, 960 Main St., Sanford