Please see below from Masters of Public Administration student Kate Yenik. She is looking for volunteers for the Point in Time (PIT) count: What is Point in Time (PIT) Count? A point-in-time (PIT) count is an unduplicated count on a single night of the people in a community who are experiencing homelessness that includes both sheltered and unsheltered populations. The important of Efforts and Accurate PIT Counts: PIT counts are a critical source of data on the number and characteristics of people who are homeless in the United States. PIT count data are also provided annually to Congress as part of the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR). The AHAR is used by Congress, HUD, other federal departments, and the general public to understand the nature and extent of homelessness. HUD’s PIT count data has become increasingly important as a measure of our local and national progress related to preventing and ending homelessness, especially with relation to our progress towards meeting the goals of Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. In addition to informing national priorities and HUD funding decisions, PIT count data are an extremely important source for local program and system planning. To be responsive to the needs of persons experiencing homelessness in the community, Continuum of Cares (CoCs) need to understand how many individuals and families are being served by their homeless services system, as well as how many are unsheltered and might still need access to services. On the local level, point-in-time counts help communities plan services and programs to appropriately address local needs, measure progress in decreasing homelessness, and identify strengths and gaps in a community’s current homelessness assistance system. Current and accurate data on the number and characteristics of homeless persons in the community are useful for policy and planning decisions and enable Continuum of Cares and other local services to adjust the types of services available according to need, resulting in more efficient use of limited resources. Having reliable local data on homelessness can also play a critical role in raising public awareness of the challenges facing people who are homeless and bolster efforts to garner additional public and private support. Volunteers, We Need your Help! In order to make Coconino County’s Winter PIT count a success we are asking for volunteers! Volunteers will conduct important interviews with individuals who are experiencing homelessness. Each volunteer will be paired with an experienced professional in the field and have knowledge with working with the population. In other words, no one will participate in the PIT without partners. We will go out in teams! Training Volunteers The Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) will conduct a training that is required for all volunteers to attend. The one hour training will take place on January 20th from 9-10 AM at City Hall. When Will the PIT Count Happen? Coconino County will conduct the PIT Count on January 28-30th. Although partnering agencies will conduct surveys the entire week, we are asking volunteers to participate during the 24 hour efforts count. Volunteers and teams are asked to commit two hours of their time conducting surveys to individuals who are experiencing homelessness. For more information, contact Kate Yenik at [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:15:34 +0000
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