Salem-area organizers opt to skip unsheltered homeless count this year

The annual unsheltered Point-in-Time count sends interviewers out into the Salem area to count the number of people living out on the street, in tents, RVs or in cars.

Last January, Marion and Polk counties recorded a record 2,154 homeless peoplein Salem, 953 of them living outside of shelters. The high number compared to previous counts resulted from a more thorough and better organized count and rising costs of rent and essentials driving more…