SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Hundreds of volunteers were scheduled to scour the streets of San Francisco Thursday evening to help count the number of homeless people living in the city.

The point in time count, conducted every two years, helps jurisdictions secure Continuum of Care funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Those funds help nonprofit providers as well as state and county governments rehouse homeless people, according to HUD's website.

San Francisco's count is being organized by the city's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, which expects more than 500 volunteers to show up.

The city's 2017 count found that there were 7,499 homeless individuals living in the city, both sheltered and unsheltered, down by 40 people compared to the city's 2015 count.

According to HSH spokesman Randy Quezada, during Thursday's visual count "volunteers will be covering every street as they see people who are unsheltered and mark a tally."

In addition to the outdoor count, HSH staff will also call into the city's Navigation Centers, traditional shelters and family shelters

Thursday night to find out the number of sheltered homeless individuals there.

After adding all of the numbers, HSH staff will then follow up with a survey of about 1,000 homeless people next month to get a better idea of their experiences and characteristics. A final comprehensive report will then be issued later this year.

Volunteer training starts at 7 p.m. outside the Main Library at 100 Larkin St. Volunteers will then break off into groups of three or four before deploying to different parts of the city at 8 p.m., city officials said.