They share a common commitment to end homelessness.

With that very thought in mind, Carbon County organizations and volunteers scoured the area on Wednesday in search of unsheltered homeless people.

Family Promise of Carbon County, along with the Carbon County Action Committee, teamed with a group of volunteers to conduct the nationwide point-in-time study.

Only three people were identified, according to Jonathan Blackwell-Rodgers, executive director, Family Promise of Carbon County.

“We had teams out in each one of the towns in Carbon,” Blackwell-Rodgers said. “We identified three individuals who were needing assistance or shelter.”

Blackwell-Rodgers said all three people were receptive to coming into either office in Lehighton for resources and support.

“The hardest thing is that the day is picked nationwide,” he said. “With the cold weather, individuals have found places to stay and/or are hiding a little bit.”

The point-in-time count is a nationwide count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people on a single night in January.

The effort is spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with the goal being to find ways to end homelessness.

The count determines how funding will be distributed in the future to help those experiencing homelessness, or at imminent risk of being homeless.

The funding allows nonprofit providers, and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless people and families, while minimizing the trauma and dislocation those who are affected experience.

It also allows agencies to educate and optimize self-sufficiency among those in homeless situations, ultimately contributing to the overall vitality and future growth of our hometowns.