A homeless camp in Lehighton is asked to do its part and participate in this year’s Point-in-Time Count.

The Point-in-Time Count will occur in the borough from 4-6 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Lehighton Trailhead, at which time the people from Tent City are asked to come to be counted.

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky made the announcement at borough council’s special meeting on Thursday in which she resumed discussion on the homeless situation.

Abelovsky said that she and borough police Chief Troy Abelovsky attended a virtual meeting, and that it was “a really great starting point to a task force.”

“Last year they only counted four people,” Autumn Abelovsky said. “And we all know there’s more people down there.”

Abelovsky said that the Carbon County Action Committee has made their own contact with the people at Tent City.

“This is a hot topic which is bringing attention to our residents, and we have an outpouring of support for people in Tent City,” she said.

Abelovsky said that borough resident Jack Finnegan was planning a drop off on Friday to provide the people of Tent City with food, drinks, and necessities.

Last month, Finnegan volunteered to be part of a coalition to assist the homeless in the borough.

Finnegan, told council at that time he was interested in the homeless folks at Dunbar Beach.

Finnegan serves on the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission,

Borough Manager Dane DeWire said he’s fielded some concerns about Tent City.

“I’ve had residents from Franklin Township come to me and say ‘this smoke is entering our home,’?” DeWire said. “It’s on county property within borough limits.”

Abelovsky said a kickoff meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Jan. 26 to reorganize the homeless task force.

She said that Tent City has its own mayor and sheriff.

“So we tried to just give our opinion; we just encouraged them to not utilize those terms (because) it’s almost a sense of (self-empowerment)” she said. “They’re the residents of Tent City.”

After the meeting, Troy Abelovsky said there between 20 to 25 people living in Tent City.

Earlier this month, Autumn Abelovsky referenced the Carbon County Action Committee for Human Services in the borough, which provides emergency housing and serves the homeless population in the county.

The county’s “Unsheltered Homeless” Point-in-Time count, which is spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development each year through its local Continuums of Care.

The count measures and monitors trends and changes in homelessness on local and national levels, and helps communities (including states) understand what resources are needed and strategize the best ways to use them to end homelessness.