Volunteer Coordination for Point-in-Time Homeless Counts 6/6/2019 Volunteer Coordination for Point-in-Time Homeless Counts Jennifer Hales, Planner, City of Vancouver November 17, 2015 Module 3 – Planning for Success

Acknowledgement of Coast Salish Territories Musqueam Tsleil-Waututh Squamish Map source: https://www.seattleu.edu/uploadedImages/ArtSci/About/Ethobotanical/Salish%20Map%20full%20Size.jpg

Presentation Overview Context Volunteers: Keys to Success Recruiting Coordinating Training Supporting Retaining Lessons learned

Context

Vancouver in the Region Metro Vancouver – 21 municipalities, one treaty First Nation and one electoral area Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness (2000) Aboriginal Steering Committee on Homelessness (2000) Plans to end homelessness: Regional Plan: 3 Ways to Home (2001) City of Vancouver Homelessness Action Plan (2005) City of Vancouver Housing and Homelessness Strategy (2012-2015) Draft Regional Homelessness Plan (2015-2025)

History of PiT Counts PiT counts across Metro Vancouver every 3 years since 2002 PiT counts in City of Vancouver annually since 2010 (9 total since 2002) City of Vancouver staff spearhead the CoV count Hire external Count Consultant and Area Coordinators Methodology consistent for comparability

Street and Sheltered Homeless in City of Vancouver 2002-2015

Volunteers: Keys to Success

Why Volunteers? Large-scale project Volunteers have a crucial and important role Conduct the count on the street and in shelters They are your data collectors They are the ‘face’ of the count For a successful count, recruit, train & support them well Opportunity to engage and educate

Recruiting Volunteers: How Many? Determine number For street count For shelter count Vancouver example # for the street count: Exercise with Homeless Outreach Teams Identified known locations of people living outside in 4 areas of city (WS, ES, DT, DTES) Created maps 2 volunteers for each map Over 200 maps Over 400 volunteers needed for street count

Recruiting Volunteers: How Many? Vancouver example # for the shelter count: Shelter Count Coordinator communicates with shelter managers 22 adult shelters with 1000 shelter beds in March 2015 Estimate 1 volunteer for 10 shelter guests 100 volunteers needed for shelter count 9 Extreme Weather Response (EWR) shelters with max of 190 beds in March 2015 18 extra volunteers in case EWR shelters open

Recruiting Volunteers: How Many? Final word on recruitment: Be prepared for cancellations and ‘no shows’ Recruit more than you need Train them all Have an ‘on-call’ pool of trained volunteers those who are not assigned those who are prepared to do more than one shift

Recruiting Volunteers: Develop a call-out strategy Public or within your networks? Timing and phasing Format – Email letter? Posters? Key messages – importance of count Who are you recruiting? Who is the ideal volunteer? Personality important Consider needs if doing targeted Aboriginal or youth strategy Application process Make it easy – both for volunteers to sign up and for you to manage Get as much info as possible Contact info Availability (street or shelter, time, training sessions) Experience Other (mobility challenges, prefer to bike, etc.)

Recruiting Volunteers: Call-out strategy Vancouver example Email recruitment letter (see handout) 1st call-out: 2 – 2.5 months in advance Online application form using Fluid Survey: http://vancouver.fluidsurveys.com/s/HomelessCount2015/

Coordinating Volunteers Importance of Volunteer Coordinators Vancouver: 4 Area Coordinators and 1 Shelter Count Coordinator Organization and communication skills paramount! Assign and pair volunteers appropriately Ensure volunteers attend training / sign waiver Coordinate and support volunteers on count day Takes more time than you think Things you can do to standardize/streamline volunteer coordination process Clear roles and responsibilities Templates for communication with volunteers Clear milestones dates

Training Volunteers Make training mandatory For street count For shelter count Be respectful of people’s time Offer food Provide as much information as possible Coordinator on hand to register and answer any questions Two parts: Detailed review of survey tool Tips for approaching people, interviewing and staying safe (outreach team) Waiver Instruction package to take home (see handout) Minimize time between training and the count

Supporting and Retaining Volunteers Respond to questions and concerns respectfully and quickly Communication skills of Volunteer Coordinators Send a “Thank You” Ask for feedback Exit survey What can be done better next time? Share the results

Lessons Learned

Key Take Aways Communication, communication, communication! Give lots of time Training and engagement Appreciation

Thank you! vancouver.ca/housing