Getting Ready for 2007
Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the country are preparing for the next point-in-counts of homeless persons, in January 2007. HUD’s Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs presented a webcast on conducting sheltered and unsheltered point-in-time counts (October 10, 2006). Here are the main points covered during the webcast:

Why
The purpose of a point in time count is to understand the number and characteristics of people sleeping in shelters, on the street, or in other places not meant for human habitation. Count information can help local communities determine the size and scope of the homeless problem at the local level, plan services and programs to effectively address local needs, and to measure local progress in addressing homelessness.

When
If your community currently applies for or is planning to apply for Continuum of Care funds, you must conduct a one-night count of homeless persons in your community at least every other year, though HUD has made it clear that every year is preferable. It’s possible that HUD will in the future give additional points in their annual application for Continuums that conduct annual counts. HUD requires continuums to conduct their one-night count during the last seven days of January.

Where
Continuums must conduct a sheltered count and an unsheltered count of all homeless adults, children, and unaccompanied youth.
The sheltered count includes all homeless people in emergency shelters and transitional housing. The sheltered count includes persons housed in domestic violence shelters, residential programs for runaway/homeless youth, and hotel, motel, or apartment vouchers paid for by public or private agencies because the individual or family is homeless. The sheltered count should not include formerly homeless persons living in permanent supportive housing, individuals living in doubled-up situations, children or youth in emergency foster care or treatment facilities, or adults living in mental health, chemical dependency, or criminal justice facilities.
The unsheltered count includes all homeless people in places not meant for human habitation, such as sidewalks, parks, cars, abandoned buildings, makeshift campgrounds, or on the street.

Who
For their sheltered count, communities are must include information on seven subpopulations for the adults included in their count: Chronically Homeless (in emergency shelters only), Severely Mentally Ill, Chronic Substance Abuse, Veterans, Persons with HIV/AIDS, Victims of Domestic Violence, and Unaccompanied Youth (under 18). Note: a corresponding and complete inventory of the types of shelter and number of actual beds available for homeless people in the community is also required for this application.
For their unsheltered count, subpopulation information is optional, except for information about the chronically homeless, which is a term defined by HUD as an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has had either been continuously homeless for a year or more OR has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.

How
The sheltered count is generally accomplished by enlisting the help of shelter staff and management to count individuals in their facilities on a set night or over a 24-hour period. Homeless people can be simply counted or, better yet, communities take the opportunity to gather additional information with interviews. As Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) become more sophisticated and more widely used, communities are relying on these computer systems to provide the needed information for their sheltered count for the client-level count and subpopulation data. The providers that are note using HMIS are then included with a manual survey. Interviews are generally conducted using a sample of the population, and HUD advised that it is important to get expert advice to design surveys using sample and extrapolation. Seasonal beds, temporary beds, overflow beds, family units, and vouchers are all included in the sheltered count.

The unsheltered count is more difficult to accomplish because there is no way to know all the places where homeless people are on a given night. This success of this count is dependent on a great deal of planning and requires a large number of volunteers to be successful. Because it is inevitable that a simple count of unsheltered homeless actually seen on a given night or 24-hour period is going to under-represent the actual unsheltered homeless population, HUD allows communities to use probability sampling to determine a reliable estimate of the homeless population. This, however, REQUIRES statistical expertise (i.e. money to pay for a consultant). Many communities are finding ways to collaborate with their local universities to design probability sampling for their count. When expert assistance is not possible, communities are limited to canvassing areas of their community and visiting known places where homeless people live, sleep, and congregate.

HUD has developed several new resources to help communities plan and implement their upcoming point-in-time counts of homeless persons. These include:
·Point-in-Time Count Webcast Presentation. HUD’s Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs presented a webcast on conducting sheltered and unsheltered point-in-time counts on October 10, 2006. The accompanying PowerPoint presentation focuses on the benefits of conducting point-in-time counts; HUD‘s standards for conducting point-in-time counts of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons and for updating housing inventory information for homeless assistance programs; and best practices for implementing counts and collecting data about homeless persons. Link to webcast: http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/archives/homspecneed.cfm Link to presentation slides: http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/library/webcast101006/point_in_time_slides.pdf

·A Revised Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless People. A newly revised and expanded version of this guide includes information on counting homeless people in southwestern border areas, or colonias, and guidance on implementing a quality assurance study to improve a point-in-time count. Link: http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/library/webcast101006/street_count_guide.pdf

·A Guide to Counting Sheltered Homeless People. This new guide describes recommended methods for collecting data on sheltered homeless people, or persons living in emergency shelter or transitional housing. It reviews methods for collecting accurate and reliable information using HMIS and/or provider and client surveys. Link: http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/library/webcast101006/guide_to_counting_sheltered.pdf

·HUD is also offering remote technical assistance to answer your questions about planning a point-in-time count or analyzing the information after the count. Call 1-877-789-2427 with your questions or submit a request via e-mail at PITcounts@abtassoc.com.