Point-in-Time Survey Volunteer Recruitment Local Groups Recruiting Volunteers to Help Count People in Homeless Situations in the Helena Area unitedwaylca.org/blog-entry/13-01-2015/point-time-survey-volunteer-recruitment To learn more, visit volunteerhelena.org. For questions, contact Tyler Amundson, at [email protected]. Helena, MT (January 13, 2015) – Soon after the sun sets on Thursday, January 29, 2015 volunteers will head out into neighborhoods across Helena to count and survey community members in homeless situations. On a single night every year during the last week in January across the nation, volunteers, continuum of care (CoC) agencies, and health and human service providers administer U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) annual point-in-time survey, which aims to create an unduplicated count of individuals and families in homeless situations. The United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area and Challenge Helena are recruiting community volunteers to help with the administration of this year’s survey. According to Brian Johnson, Executive Director of the United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area, “very capable organizations that provide direct services to those experiencing homelessness or in need of assistance in our community like God’s Love, the YWCA, and Food Share among many others conduct this survey every single year with their clients.” Leslie Torgerson, Manager of Helena Housing Authority states, “the staff at Helena Housing Authority participates in the point in time survey because we know that so many people in our own community are homeless. This in turn ensures continuous funding levels for homeless programs in Lewis and Clark County.” The volunteer community canvassing effort hopes to capture those that are not currently sheltered at a local agency or applying for assistance. “It is important that we count those that are staying with family and friends on an emergency basis, too, so that we also know the number of our neighbors that are precariously housed.” Challenge Helena’s Tyler Amundson says that the organizations are seeking to recruit as many volunteers as possible to help with the survey. “The more volunteers that we have the better understanding that we, as a community, will have about the scope and nature of the issue” While the count has implications for the amount of federal funding distributed to local CoC organizations, count organizers maintain that the real reason is because everyone counts. “The more community volunteers and advocates that we have that care about addressing homelessness, the more momentum we will have to adopt creative, long-lasting solutions. Most importantly, those that we seek to count- vets families, children, men and women young and old- matter,” said Johnson. The 2014 annual Point-in-Time survey counted 645 people as homeless in Helena. Data from the last nine years shows an increasing trend, with 316 individuals counted as experiencing homelessness in our community in 2006. A 1.5 hour volunteer training prior to January 29, 2015 count is required. The training dates and times are listed below. All trainings are to be held at the Lewis and Clark Library, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT 59601. To learn more, visit volunteerhelena.org. For questions, contact Tyler Amundson, at [email protected]. Sunday, January 18, 2015 from 1:30PM to 3:00PM. Sunday, January 25, 2015 from 1:30PM to 3:00PM. Monday, January 26, 2015 from 3:00PM to 4:30PM. Monday, January 26, 2015 from 5:30PM to 7:00PM. Monday, January 26, 2015 from 7:30PM to 9:00PM. RESOURCES Challenge Helena: Homelessness Presentation (PDF) -- unitedwaylca.org/sites/unitedwaylca.org/files/Challenge%20Helena%20Presentation.pdf Challenge Helena: Homelessness Presentation (VIDEO) -- https://youtube/watch?v=wQ53v3W0s58 ### Katie Gallagher Marketing Specialist United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area Phone: 406.442.4360 Email: [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 22:46:35 +0000
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