Every Georgian Counts : Understanding Homelessness in Your Community

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Every Georgian Counts Understanding
Homelessness in Your Community
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Who Are Georgias Homeless?
Unsheltered Homeless Streets Camping Car
Substandard Housing
Sheltered Homeless Emergency Shelter
Transitional Housing Motel Vouchers
Precariously Housed Doubled Up Motels
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Definitions

• Sheltered Homeless Persons
• People who reside in an emergency shelter or in
  transitional/supportive housing for homeless
  persons
• Unsheltered Homeless Persons
• People who reside in a place not meant for human
  habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks,
  abandoned buildings, encampments, dilapidated
  buildings or who face eminent homelessness from
  eviction
• Precariously Housed Persons
• People who are temporarily staying with
• family or friends due to loss of
• housing or economic hardship
• People who are living in motel
• situations due to loss of
• housing or economic hardship

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Who is at risk for becoming homeless?

• People with low incomes
• 1.3 million living in poverty in Georgia
• 595,665 people in Georgia have incomes ½ the
  poverty level
• Georgias Housing Wage 29,084
• People with personal vulnerabilities
• Mental illness
• Substance abuse
• Family violence

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Statewide Estimates

• Data compiled from 2007 and 2008 counts
• Model for unsheltered homeless plus shelter count
• Over 20,000 people at a single point in time
• Estimated that over 75,000 people will be
  homeless in Georgia sometime during the year

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Why Does This Matter?

• Reasons to Understand Homelessness in your
  Community
• Increased Funding/Resources
• Long Term Community Planning
• Development of a Ten Year Plan
• Hidden Costs
• Economic Benefits
• Community Collaboration
• Awareness

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Costs of homelessness

• Study of Athens hospitals (Athens Regional and
  St. Mary's) 576 homeless people made 7,000
  visits in 2005
• 2.4 million spent in 2005 by Athens hospitals
• Burke County night of January 27, 2008
• 112 inmates/25 were homeless

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Methods for Understanding Homelessness
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Overview of Common Methods to Understand
Homelessness in Your Community

• Service Count
• Surveys collected by service providers over a
  designated period of time asking about
  homelessness on a certain night
• Street Count
• One night census of unsheltered living on streets
  and in woods
• In-depth Survey
• Administered to a sample of individuals asking
  detailed questions
• Homeless Management Information Systems
• Collects information about individuals/families
  served

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Service Count Methodology for Unsheltered and
Precariously Housed

• Housing screening surveys administered at service
  locations and other places where homeless people
  congregate or live
• Point In Time
• Surveys collected during the following week

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January 2008 Service Count Dalton-Whitfield

• Collected 417 surveys
• Identified 180 homeless persons
• 40 agencies throughout the county participated
• Part of the work of the Committee for Housing
  Stability (created in 2005)
• Count part of larger community effort to work
  cooperatively to address housing issues
• Lead agency Dalton/Whitfield County Community
  Development Corporation

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Street Count Methodology Atlanta

• One night canvassing of City
• Volunteers, Service Providers and Formerly
  Homeless Individuals participate
• Collects a count of any individuals/families that
  are obviously unsheltered on the night of the
  count
• Sleeping on the streets, in cars or in structures
  not suitable for human habitation
• Individuals/Families are not approached and all
  demographics are collected based on observation
  only

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Mixed Methodology Gwinnett County

• Surveys administered at service locations
• Collected surveys at locations where homeless
  individuals/families were known to stay
• Collected surveys at hotel/motels where they knew
  families were living
• Planning an in-depth survey with a sample of
  individuals/families based on results of service
  based count

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January 2008 Homeless Count
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January 2008 Homeless Count Surveys

• 1578 surveys collected (by DCA and in 33
  counties)
• 2,041 people

Housing Status
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2008 Homeless Surveys by Age
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How many are homeless in Georgia?

• Data compiled from 2007 and 2008 counts
• About 20,400 people at a single point in time
• About 75,000 people will be homeless in Georgia
  sometime during the year

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Costs of homelessness

• Study of Athens hospitals (Athens Regional and
  St. Marys) 576 homeless people made 7,000
  visits in 2005
• 2.4 million spent in 2005 by Athens hospitals
• Burke County night of January 27, 2008
• 112 inmates/25 were homeless

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2009 Homeless Count

• Objective -- Count of homeless families and
  individuals
• Understand the scope of
• the problem locally and
• statewide
• HUD requirement for
• McKinney-Vento Programs

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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January 2009 Homeless Count
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Why Participate? (not in order of importance)

• Learn more about housing issues in your community
• Build a housing and social services team around a
  concrete activity
• Build your case for funding
• Get ready for the 2010 Census
• Build community support
• Develop data for local comprehensive plans and
  consolidated plans (entitlement communities)

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Count Methodology for Unsheltered and
Precariously Housed

• Housing screening surveys administered at service
  locations and other places where homeless people
  congregate or live
• Point In Time January 25, 2009
• Surveys collected during the following week
• DCA will arrange for data input and analysis of
  surveys

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Questionnaire

• Designed to be administered by staff or by
  volunteers
• No more than 10 minutes
• Questions to help with
• problem of duplication
• Housing status questions
• Family members
• Special circumstances

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Who Is Surveyed?

• Screening Question Have you had any difficulty
  with housing in the past month?

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Where To Survey

• Where people go for services
• Where people congregate
• On the telephone
• Where people live -- Count people living in
  dilapidated housing, abandoned trailers, farm
  buildings, or encampments

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Preparing for the Count

• Potential participating organizations/locations
  for administering the survey
• DFACS
• Housing Authority
• Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens
• Clothing Programs
• Shelters
• Community Service Boards
• Health Department
• Nonprofits
• Day Labor Sites

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Other contacts

• Local government
• Police Chief and Sheriff
• Media
• Churches
• Family Connections
• School and hospital social workers
• Others

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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What a Successful Count Needs

• All of the identified organizations on-board and
  organized to collect the surveys
• Trained staff and volunteers
• Community support
• Planning well in advance of PIT
• Incentives for some locations

2009 Georgia Homeless Count
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Timeline

• Decision to Count August 2008
• Count Coordinator Training September 2009
• Monthly Conference Calls October-December 2008
• Training Volunteers January 2009
• Count January 26-January 30 (PIT Jan. 25)
• Submit Data February 2009
• Results Back May 2009

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Contact Lindsey Stillmanlstillma_at_dca.state.ga.u
s404-327-6813

• Want to be part of the 2009 count?

2009 Georgia Homeless Count