Annual PIT Count conducted
The survey is a census of the homeless who are sheltered and unsheltered in Marion County on a given day.

Karla Greenway, center, CEO of Interfaith Emergency Services, talks with Melissa Hanson, right, case manager of the newly opened IES Engagement Center, and Robin Ford of the city of Ocala, left, during an open house on Nov. 13, 2024. IES and the city are among several entities involved in efforts to aid the homeless in Marion County. [Photo by Bruce Ackerman]
In a Dodge van; in an abandoned house about to be leveled; bundled up in the woods in recent rain and freezing temperatures.
Those were typical of the answers given to the question, “Where are you sleeping tonight?” as it was asked during the 2025 HUD Point In Time Count, conducted locally on Jan. 23.
The PIT Count is a census and survey of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in Marion County at a specific point in time. The count is spearheaded by the Ocala/Marion County Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention.
Robin Ford, city of Ocala Deputy Director, Community Development Services, led about 20 counters for the 2025 survey, including personnel from Interfaith Emergency Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The volunteers broke into small teams and covered areas countywide, seeking people living unsheltered, to ask about their sleeping arrangements for the night of Jan.23.
The PIT Count is mandated every two years by HUD but is done here annually, according to Ford, who has spearheaded the PIT Count for four years.
“The camps are smaller and more spread out,” Ford said about the current trends in local homeless camps.
Several years ago there were larger camps in the area, such as a sizable encampment on Northwest 10th Street in Ocala, and a camp with a camper, mobile home and tent on Southwest 38th Avenue, both of which have been dispersed.
Ford said this was the first PIT Count she recalled with a weather night event pending, meaning shelter would be offered, and said those seeking temporary shelter for the night at the Salvation Army Center of Hope in Ocala would be accounted for.
The center took in temporary clients that night when a “mandated cold weather night” was declared, according to Scott Lyles, Salvation Army Ocala Social Services Program Coordinator.
“We had 59 residents in our regular shelter programs yesterday evening and 18 additional clients came in for the cold weather night effort,” Lyles wrote in an email on Jan.24.
“Typically, during the week, we require all residents (unless they are given a pass specifically granting them permission otherwise) to be off of the property during the day. The idea being they have their assignments from their case worker; they should be following through on potential job searches, housing searches, or meeting other assigned goals,” he wrote.
“This morning, the residents, including cold weather night intakes, are again being allowed to remain in the building and on property until later in the morning when it warms up to a minimum of 40 degrees,” Lyles stated.
The PIT Count provides data to Marion County Continuum of Care partners for grants to provide services. Example survey questions at files.hudexchange.info include age and race, if over age 18, about military service, alcohol and drug use, social security or disability income, and how long they have been homeless.
Patti Valenti, outreach and referral specialist with the Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention, and Lauran Blaugh, Marion County Continuum of Care program coordinator, were set to do interviews midday on Jan. 23 at the Brothers Keeper Soup Kitchen/Interfaith Emergency Services Complex at 435 NW 2nd St., Ocala. The kitchen served 162 people on a recent day, according to a server.
Several people waiting for food at the soup kitchen were asked about their sleeping arrangements.
Paul is living in a wooded area near downtown Ocala, even on recent 35 degree and wet nights.
“I almost called 911 (for) hypothermia,” said Paul, 55. He said his mother died a few years ago and he was put out of their housing in Homosassa. He said he has been going to local feeding outreaches and food pantries but thinks he has a path out of his homeless situation with housing in Holiday, Florida.
David, 45, lives unsheltered “in the woods.” He commented on difficulties in life since age 21. He has been homeless for three years.
Willie, 61, lost his wife a few years ago and has been living on the street, most recently in an “abandoned house,” which will be demolished soon. He said he’s clean of drugs and “with God’s help, I’ll make it.”
Zazah, a woman of 46, just moved here and is trying to get settled into housing with help from Interfaith Emergency Services. She currently is living in her Dodge van in southwest Marion County.
George, 61, and Ricky, 73, were walking in the area around the IES Complex. George had just been released from jail. He said there are multiple outdoor camps to sleep in, for example near two local Walmart stores.
Although official 2025 figures are perhaps weeks away, the Florida’s Council on Homelessness from the Department of Children and Families indicates that the 2024 PIT Count listed 177 homeless people living sheltered and 201 living unsheltered in Marion County.
Ford said seven VA personnel were counting and that volunteers went to local spots known for activities such as panhandling. She said interviewers sent to the camps are typically someone known to the camp residents and who have worked with the residents through the Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention.
“When you walk into their camp, you’re walking into their home,” Ford said.
The IES Center for Life Services building at 108 N. Pine Ave. can provide persons in need with services ranging from help with physical and mental healthcare to housing. Ford said the Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention works closely with the IES Center and people who seek help at IES are referred by IES personnel to the Joint Office.
The Help Center building adjacent to the Center For Life at 421 N.W. 1st St. opened in November 2024 and contains the Engagement Center, which offers people in need a warm place, a shower, help obtaining identification, computer access, employment services in cooperation with CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion, and other services from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Before the Engagement Centered opened, many people congregated in daylight hours in a vacant lot near the IES Complex on Northwest 2nd Street.
Garfield, 68, and Neil, 58, were at the Engagement Center on the morning of Jan. 23. Garfield, a former barber, hasn’t seen his family in 21 years. He has been staying outdoors unsheltered and covers up with a blanket the best he can. Neil said he has overcome a drug problem and is now a guest in a local minister’s home. He said she likes to share his positivity with others in need on the streets.
“The Engagement Center is the best thing that has happened (for people in need) in a long time,” Ford said.
To learn more, go to ocalafl.gov/government/community-development-services, marionflcoc.org and iesmarion.org