Continuum of Care Lesson #2: Conducting a Homeless Survey
This is the second in a series of articles on the HUD Continuum of Care planning process. These articles are written with support from the U.S. Dept. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Texas Dept. Housing and Community Affairs. One of the most essential components of the HUD Continuum of Care Plan is the Gaps Analysis. The purpose of this analysis is to obtain data that will help you plan services for your community. Conducting the Gaps Analysis involves two steps: (1) assessing homeless needs, and (2) inventorying existing services. This article provides direction on conducting a homeless survey in order to complete step one. HUD strongly recommends that communities conduct a local survey of homeless persons. To get the most complete picture of homelessness in your community, this survey should include homeless persons living in shelters and on the streets. Getting Started
The first step in the process is to organize a committee that will oversee the logistics of conducting the survey. The committee may be the same as your Continuum of Care planning group, or a subcommittee. Ideally, the committee should include representatives from shelters, local government, outreach workers and others who can encourage agencies and homeless persons to participate in the survey. The second step in the process is to develop a survey instrument. The Texas Homeless Network is updating its survey and will make this available on our website www.THN.org in December. HUD also provides a sample survey in it's Continuum of Care Planning Guide. The next step is to set a date when the survey will be conducted. The homeless survey should be conducted on one night in order to prevent duplication. In general, it is better to conduct the survey when the weather is likely to be cold as this will result in a larger shelter count. Surveying Homeless Persons in Shelters
To conduct a survey of homeless persons in shelter, make a list of all shelter and housing for homeless persons in your community. Remember to include the following entities, taking into consideration the issues noted:

• Emergency Shelters: While persons living in motels are generally not considered homeless, you can count them if a local entity has paid for their stay as an alternative to being on the street. Salvation Army: Do not count persons staying in a halfway house or parolee housing. Since their housing is paid for by the criminal justice system, HUD does not consider these residents homeless. Shelters for Victims of Domestic Violence Teen Shelter: Remember that youth in foster care are not considered homeless. Transitional Housing for Homeless Persons Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA): Include any TBRA units that are used as transitional housing. Permanent Supportive Housing for Homeless Persons: Include persons living in Shelter Plus Care or housing funded under the Permanent Supportive Housing program. You may also include supportive housing provided by MHMR or through HOPWA (Housing for Persons with AIDS), so long as residents were homeless prior being placed in these units.
• Programs for Substance Abusers: You may want to conduct the survey in detox and treatment programs, or halfway houses. Be careful to only count those who are homeless - that is, individuals who originally came from the streets or shelter, or have no resources to obtain housing upon completion of the program.

Once you have identified all the shelter and housing programs, contact them to inform them of the purpose and date of the survey. Send each a copy of the survey form with instructions. Each shelter should conduct the survey at night, after they have closed their doors. If the shelter needs help administering the survey, have the survey committee recruit volunteers. Surveying Homeless Persons on the Streets
Conducting a survey of homeless persons on the streets is more complicated because it is harder to find these people. As with the shelter count, your first step should be to develop a list of "known locations" where homeless people stay. The best resources for this information are homeless persons, police and sheriff departments, outreach workers and churches that work with "street homeless". Mark the locations you have identified on a map and divide the map into sectors that will be covered by different groups of volunteers. Make sure that the sectors are small enough that they can be covered in a relatively short time frame. If you have a lot of outdoor locations, you may want to narrow the list to those that are the most heavily populated. The survey committee should recruit volunteers to conduct the street survey. This is an excellent opportunity to educate community members about the reality of homelessness in your area! Many communities have taken advantage of this opportunity by involving university students, churches, local media, businesses and public officials. Some communities pay homeless persons to help conduct the survey. To ensure the safety of volunteers, conduct a training and orientation prior to the night of the survey. This training should cover procedures for conducting the survey and safety precautions. Some communities also have law enforcement officers accompany surveyors or patrol areas where surveyors are working. At a minimum, you should inform local law enforcement about your plans so they can be on the look out. You should also organize volunteers into groups of three or more, provide them with flashlights and cell phones (if possible), and have them wear clothing or equipment that identifies them as surveyors (e.g. arm bands, hats, etc.). If you are concerned about potential liability, you could also have volunteers sign waivers releasing you from responsibility. Establish procedures for how the street survey will be conducted. In general, you should begin the survey later in the evening, when people have returned to their camps. Some communities visit the same location twice, since different groups come to the camps at different hours. Whatever procedure you choose, be sure to have a system for eliminating duplication. At a minimum, you should ask each person if they have already been surveyed. Another successful approach is to give each person a bag with toiletries or socks after completing the survey. In addition to encouraging participation, this bag identifies people who have already been surveyed.

Want more Info?
Check out the THN website for more information on the Continuum of Care planning process and sample surveys. For the final word on surveying homeless persons, the definitive authority is Martha Burt's Practical Methods for Counting the Homeless: A Manual for State and Local Jurisdictions, which can be ordered through HUDUser.