PIT Count Training Agenda

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PIT Count Training Agenda

• 915 - Registration
• 1000 - Training begins
• 1200 - Lunch
• 1230 - Local community insight
• 130 - What next
• 200 - Q A wrap-up complete evals

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Point In Time Counts of the Homeless in Rural
CommunitiesCOHHIO TrainingSeptember 2007
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Welcome Introductions
Welcome and Introductions
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Purpose of Point-In-Time Count

• Understand the number and characteristics of
  people sleeping in shelters and on the street, or
  in other places not meant for human habitation.

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On your markGet set Count!!!
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Organize a Committee

• First step is to organize a committee that will
  oversee the conducting of the survey.
• Committee should include representatives from
  shelters, local government, universities,
  outreach workers, and others who have an interest
  in homelessness.

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Job Descriptions
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Establish Goals

• Committee should establish the goals for the
  survey. Is the purpose to
• Complete the gaps analysis?
• Complete PIT chart?
• Inform local service planning?
• Produce research on homeless characteristics?
• Other????

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Think About

• of volunteers how much area can you cover
• Ask provider agencies to collect data on where
  homeless have stayed in the community
• Solicit information from police, formerly/current
  homeless, and others about where to look for
  homeless

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And then think about

• Not reinventing the wheel ask for help from
  other communities that have done counts obtain
  TA from COHHIO
• Communicating with your community let them know
  the who, what, where, when, and why about the
  count
• Being prepared for media coverage

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Counting Techniques

• Simple count with observation
• Client-Level Data Collection count with
  survey/interview
• Provider-Level Data Collection - Service-based
  count

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Agency Milestones
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Street Count Milestones
There are too many tasks for any one or two
individuals to plan, coordinate, and implement -
collaboration by a group is a necessity.
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Timelines and Milestones

• 6-9 months before the count determine count
  methodology
• 3-4 months before the count finalize data
  collection approach
• Develop tool/survey form

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Timelines and Milestones

• 6 weeks before count
• Recruit key person to participate in the count
  (elected official, philanthropist, important
  local business person)
• Start press releases about the count start
  recruiting volunteers
• Educate provider agencies about the upcoming
  count
• Determine locations to search
• Solicit participation from law enforcement

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Timelines and Milestones

• 2-3 weeks before the count
• Send letters regarding the upcoming count to law
  enforcement, hospitals, transportation providers,
  park rangers, local businesses, etc.
• Prepare volunteer training
• Map locations for teams to search identify
  potential dangerous areas (abandoned buildings)
  may wish to have police escort to some locations
• Determine site for starting/ending the count
  

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Timelines and Milestones

• One week prior to the count
• Volunteer training tell volunteers what to
  expect and what to bring with them
• Confirm volunteer numbers how much area can be
  covered
• Assemble packets for the volunteers map, data
  collection form, pens, other pertinent info
• Secure snacks/drinks for volunteers

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Review Survey Instruments

• If you already have a survey tool, review it - is
  there anything new you need to consider for this
  next count.
• If you dont have a survey - dont recreate the
  wheel - several counties have forms that they
  will share with you - consider adding information
  to meet your local needs. Keep it brief - can be
  overwhelming to volunteers and homeless.

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2007 Exhibit 1 Continuum of Care Application K
CoC Point-In-Time Homeless Population and
Subpopulations Chart
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What Other Information Might you Want to Collect?

• Gender
• Race/ethnicity
• Last permanent housing locations zip code when
  homelessness situation started
• Reason for homelessness
• Employment status
• Health status
• Service use patterns

• Supportive services needs
• Housing needs
• Income
• Receipt of public benefits
• Number of persons turned away
• Voluntary/involuntary discharges
• Family size/type
• Education level

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Procedures

• Committee should establish procedures for how the
  surveys will be conducted.
• Provide gift bag and resource material to those
  surveyed.

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Street Count Forms
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Unsheltered Counts

• Where? Depends on community
• Complete coverage
• Canvass an entire area (like a downtown)
• Known locations
• Canvass locations where homeless people are known
  to live, sleep and congregate.
• Non-shelter services
• Identify people at services that the unsheltered
  typically use (soup kitchens, health care
  centers)
• A combination

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Agency Count Forms
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School Forms- Memo- Residence Survey-
Tracking Form
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Unduplicated Counts

• Utilize HMIS to collect unduplicated data on
  those homeless persons served in your community.
• Utilize some form of local identifier to reduce
  risk for duplicated persons.

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Who is Counted

• Unsheltered homeless
• Sheltered homeless
• Marginally housed - At risk for homelessness??

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Who is NOT Counted

• Persons living in a mental health, chemical
  dependency or criminal justice facility. Can
  count those spending less than 30 days in the
  facility if came from streets, shelter, or
  transitional living program.
• Youth staying in foster care or residential
  treatment.
• Persons living in permanent housing.
• Persons living in Tenant/Project Based Rental
  Assistance projects.
• Participants in a Shelter Plus Care program.

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Set the Date

• HUD requires a count be completed in the last
  seven days of January
• Due to concerns with duplication, it is
  recommended that the Time period should be 24
  hours some unsheltered counts pick a brief
  period of time to complete the actual street
  count 3-4 hours

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VolunteersTraining,Release, Confidentiality
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Volunteer Recruitment

• Posting notices
• Mail or e-mail invitations to key individuals
• Utilize CoC members and their employees
• Newspaper/Radio ads
• Formerly or currently homeless individuals
• Colleges/universities
• Neighborhood/business associations
• Faith-based organizations

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Volunteer Training

• Remind volunteers that we are entering the
  homeless home how would you feel if someone
  walked into your bedroom at 200 a.m. and started
  asking you questions???
• Develop guidelines to follow during the count
  everyone should know the ground rules
• Pair new volunteers with a team leader

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Conducting the Survey

• Trained volunteers complete interviews
• Provider administration
• Self-administration

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Over the River and Through the Woods

• Check with the following for known locations of
  where homeless
• Current/former homeless
• Law enforcement
• Church agency outreach workers
• Campground staff
• Develop a map of these known locations for
  the night of the count.
• Heard it through the grapevine effect.

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Where to Conduct the Surveys

• Emergency Domestic Violence Shelters
• Salvation Army
• Food pantries soup kitchens
• Transitional Housing units
• Job Family Services
• Health Departments
• One-Stop Career Centers

• Labor Pools - Day Labor
• Community Action Agencies
• Social Service Agencies
• Jails, Treatment Facilities, Hospitals if
  person originally came from streets, shelters or
  transitional housing and is there less than 30
  days

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Community Communications -Businesses, Law
Enforcement, Crisis Line
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Sampling

• Ideally, every homeless should be interviewed.
• If unable to search all areas, deploy volunteers
  to known areas.
• Systematically have volunteers interview every
  3rd person if there are too many persons to
  interview.
• Remember to ask homeless persons where other
  homeless people are staying.

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Public Relations
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Why use HMIS for PIT Counts

• HMIS contains most of the information about the
  homeless that is needed for the CoC application
• Use of HMIS identifier to decrease risk of
  duplicate persons
• Reinforces the need for HMIS to providers
  agencies
• Universal Data Elements are collected by all HMIS
  provider agencies
• HMIS data should have good coverage may wish to
  use for verification of information rather than
  stand alone data

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Timelines for Using HMIS for a PIT Count

• 4-6 months before the count assess HMIS data
  quality and decide if it can be used for PIT
  Count
• 3-4 months before the count finalize data
  collection approach HMIS only, HMIS plus
  client/provider surveys, client/provider surveys
  only
• 2 weeks before the count communicate with
  providers about the data collection approach
• A few days before the count complete final data
  checks and remind providers about the count

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Timelines for Using HMIS for a PIT Count

• After the count
• The week after the count assess results and
  follow-up on missing or inaccurate data
• Enter data into HMIS, Excel, or other database
• The month(s) after the count analyze data and
  assemble the findings
• Distribute findings to providers, the community
  and funders

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Newark Downtown Map
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Homeless Sites
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Homeless Sites
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After the Count

• Data entry and analysis
• Release data to community
• Community forum
• Press release
• White pages
• Thank volunteers for their time and efforts

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Gaining the Cooperation of Participating Agencies

• Educate agencies in advance about the count
• Provide data to the agencies after the
  collection/analysis for their use
• Complete thank you ad in newspaper
  acknowledging agency participation

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Increasing and Gaining Community Will

• Increase public awareness of the unsheltered
  homeless in the community
• Press releases/coverage of the count
• Increase volunteers awareness of homeless for
  future projects network between providers and
  funders

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Compiling and Reporting Data

• Benefits of Producing a PIT Count report
• Communicate nature and extent of homelessness to
  local stakeholders.
• Provide needed information that local providers
  can utilize in grant applications.
• Inform of local planning efforts.
• Educate public on homelessness.
• Demonstrate local need to funders.

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Local provider insight
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Final Tips

• Secure local government support
• Resolution from county/city
• Participation from law enforcement
• Resources to complete the count
• Use incentives for participants
• Count can be a form of outreach
• Dont wait until the last minute
• Have fun!

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Next Steps

• Balance of State - PIT Count Survey
• HMIS utilization
• Other???

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Questions - Comments -Insights
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Jonda Clemings, MSEd, LSWRural Housing Program
CoordinatorCOHHIO175 South Third St. - Suite
250Columbus, Ohio 43215614-280-1984jondacleming
s_at_cohhio.org