Spencer, IA (KICD)– The Clay County Community Housing Access and Resource Team is continuing to see a local need for those struggling with housing.

Rebecca Goeken from Clay County General Relief says in the first three months since the organization was officially launched, it has already seen more referrals than expected for the entire fiscal year.

While the hope is to see the homeless numbers go down locally, Melissa Loehr notes some of the conditions and situations in the world right now will likely cause those to increase a bit.

In order to qualify for assistance through CHART, potential clients must either live in Clay County or have a specific connection to the area. Those not meeting the requirements, however, are not simply left out in the cold. They will instead to be referred to other services that would likely be able to assist with their need.