Sam Tower watches homeless people walk past his house every day. So when the Hilltop resident read that Pierce County was searching for people to help with its annual census, he volunteered.

“I just thought I’d help out and see what I can do,” said Tower, who lives near the intersection of South 15th Street and Fawcett Avenue. “My place is between Nativity House and the shelter.”

Tower and several other volunteers circulated Thursday around Nativity House, a daytime drop-in shelter, carrying golden survey sheets. They sat down at the tables with the homeless, asked a series of questions and filled out the questionnaires.

The state requires such surveys for planning and funding, said Rae Anne Giron, a community services planner with the county. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also required bi-yearly surveys.

“We know we can’t find everyone in the county,” Giron said, “but we do the best we can with the resources we have.”

Sixty-five volunteers signed up for the count and three organizations – Hospitality Kitchen, Tacoma Rescue Mission and the Metropolitan Development Council – provided their own volunteers. The count focused on permanent locations, like shelters and the feed at the Puyallup Armory, on Thursday. Volunteers will enter homeless camps Friday.

The count is done in January because it’s a colder month, and that means the homeless are more likely to reside in more concentrated areas.

It’ll take about a week to process the data, Giron said. The surveys ask for initials, a month and year of birth, race and questions about where the person will sleep that night and what were some contributing factors to homelessness.

Ann Shahan used the opportunity to connect some veterans with help. She’s the homeless coordinator for the Veterans Integrated Service Network 20, part of the Veterans Administration Northwest Health Network.

She and volunteer Bonnie Daly surveyed people visiting the needle exchange and methadone clinic at the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department building. If a respondent said he or she was a veteran, Shahan asked if they were enrolled in the VA’s programs.

“I’ve sent a couple of folks to a referral source to some our programs,” said Shahan, whose office is at American Lake. “But overall, the people are more than willing to chat.”