Point in Time Survey: The annual count of homeless people Presented by Maine Housing and the Maine Continuum of Care in partnership with:

What is the Point In Time Count? The Point In Time (PIT) Count is a count of the sheltered and the unsheltered homeless persons conducted on a single night in January. Auburn, Maine Spring 2013

Why Conduct a PIT Count? A thorough count is important in identifying and understanding both the progress made in addressing homelessness and the gaps that exist within services. The data collected through the count process helps us understand the number and characteristics of people currently experiencing homelessness. The data collected helps inform policy and planning decisions at the local, state and federal level. Communities receiving HUD funding must do the count every year and submit the data to HUD. HUD then compiles the data from all 50 states and submits the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.

Benefits of Conducting the Count It provides opportunities to connect people experiencing homelessness with locally available resources. It provides data that allows for the ability to track trends and changes over time. It provides information about people who are not utilizing shelters and/or available resources.

Benefits of Conducting the Count (Continued) It is an opportunity to increase public awareness and education regarding the homelessness issue and the causes of homelessness. It provides information on where in the community people experiencing homelessness live.

PIT Count Definitions Literally Homeless: “An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, a park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport or camping ground.” Night of Count: This method is a count of people who are unsheltered in the night designated for the count. The “night of count” begins at sunset on the date of the count and ends at sunrise on the following day. Service-Based Count: a method of conduction interviews with users of non-shelter services and locations frequented by people who are homeless. When you do a service-based count, you are still asking about a person’s housing status/homelessness on the date identified for the night of count, which for this year is January 24th, 2017.

Homeless Youth Definition: For the purpose of the PIT Count, a “youth” is identified as anyone who is under the age of 25. (Born after 1992.) Anyone you encounter who is under the age of 18 and not with a parent/guardian is considered an “unaccompanied minor”. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: These definitions are specific to the count and determining if a person’s information should be included in the annual count report. THESE DEFINITIONS ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONNECTED TO ANY ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR VARIOUS PROGRAMS.

Tips on using the forms It is important that you ask ALL of the questions on the forms. If you skip questions, then we cannot include that person’s information in the count report. Some may find it uncomfortable to ask some of the questions, particularly on the youth forms. Take the time to become familiar with the forms. Practice asking the questions!! If you find that after practicing, you are not comfortable asking the questions, please talk with your area outreach coordinator about this. Asking the questions may not be the best way for you to help with the count. DON’T worry. There are plenty of ways to help with the count even if you are not filling out forms.

Additional Resources: http://www.mainehomelessplanning.org http://www.mainehousing.org If you clink the “Policy & Research” tab at the top of the page, you will get a list that will link you to previous years PIT Count reports. https://www.hudexchange.info/

If you have any questions regarding the PIT count which do not get answered during this presentation, please contact: Janice Lara-Hewey of Catholic Charities Maine-PATH Program by phone at: (207)-272-9210 or by e-mail at: jlarahewey@ccmaine.org