2017 Homeless Count in January

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Zanesville Noon Rotary Club had a guest speaker today to talk about the homeless count in Zanesville and how many of those that are homeless are constantly trying to get out of their current predicament.

Lynsey Yarger started her involvement back in 2010 as part of a class project. Yarger and her classmates helped with the homeless count.

“We went out and interacted with a homeless individual and she just told me that one of her main wishes was that she could take a shower,” said Yarger. “Just hearing that statement just really changed my life and I wanted to make a difference.

Yarger said Zanesville has mostly chronically homeless people, which is a person that has been homeless for a while and struggle with problems that prevent them from obtaining a stable home.

“There are homeless people who try really hard to change their circumstances to change their life either it’s going to treatment, or going to AA, or NA, or just really trying to hold down steady employment, or looking for housing,” Yarger said. “They’re just constantly struggling and meeting dead ends, but they keep pushing and they keep trying.”

Muskingum County Continuum of Care is holding their annual Homeless Count on Tuesday, January 24th. They’ll meet at the Salvation Army at 7:30 P.M. and start the count around 8:00 P.M.