MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Two times a year, local agencies try to count the number of people who are homeless in Milwaukee. The latest count starts on Wednesday night.

Volunteers for the group "Milwaukee's Continuum of Care" fan out to find as many homeless people as possible. They do this so they can let the federal government know how much help the county needs. There's also an incentive for people who have no place to go to participate.

"For tonight, individuals or families or unaccompanied youth have the opportunity to go somewhere for 12 hours, tell their story, be interviewed and then they'll be given a drawstring bag full of snacks, hygiene items, emergency blankets, hats, gloves, scarves so some essential items that they'll need for these cold winter months," said Nancy Esteves with Institute for Community Alliances.

If you know someone who needs to find out where to go home for "homeless count", call 211.