Mobilizing Results: Working with PiT Data Aaron Segaert November 2015 Module 7 – Mobilizing Results

Now that we have the data, what do we do? Clean and prepare the data Get set up for analysis There is always a possibility of data entry errors or other mistakes. As you work with the data, keep an eye out for contradictory or nonsensical results If something looks very wrong, delete the incorrect bit of information (i.e. treat it as missing information). You can still “count” the person and use the rest of their information

Results: Simple and to the point PiT count results are intuitive, simple and easy for people to understand: “On any given night, about 200 people are homeless” No complicated statistics or methods are required, mostly counts and percentages: “5.7% have Aboriginal ancestry” “27% are female” “14 of the 26 people surveyed on the street have not used a shelter in the past year”

Small numbers Aside from Canada’s largest cities, the total number of people counted will be in the hundreds or even dozens, so some categories will have very small numbers: Key Demographics N % Male 139 72.4% Female 52 27.1% Veteran 5 2.6% Aboriginal 11 3.1% Recent Immigrant/refugee Child Youth 37 19.3% Adult 143 74.5% Senior 7 3.6%

Use charts and graphs

% of respondents

Show detailed info in tables “Fifteen percent are episodically homeless” Times homeless in past three years One 135 70.3% Two 28 14.6% Three or more 29 15.1%

Play to the strengths of PiT An opportunity to put shelter statistics in context: How many people are not being counted in shelter statistics? There is scant real-world data on this question “20% of respondents were sleeping in locations other than a shelter, and 53% reported not using a shelter in the past year” “Overall, 92.7% of those enumerated were either in a shelter on the night of the count or used a shelter at some time during the past year”

Play to the strengths of PiT What are the characteristics of people who do not use shelters? Are some groups less likely to use shelters? Demographics Used a shelter in past year? Yes No Male 91.3% 8.7% Female 96.2% 3.8% Veteran 60.0% 40.0% Aboriginal 81.8% 18.2% Youth 91.9% 8.1% Adult 92.3% 7.7% Senior 100.0% 0.0% Total Sample 92.7% 7.3%

Compare and contrast Use existing community data from Statistics Canada and other sources to compare and contrast with the general population: “Seniors are under-represented relative to the general population, with only 3.6% of those surveyed aged 65 or over” “2.6% reported having military service, about the same as the percentage of Veterans in the wider community”

“The proportion of males is higher on the street than in shelters” Compare and contrast Look at differences between groups, e.g., those surveyed on the street vs. in shelter: “The proportion of males is higher on the street than in shelters” Location % Male Street 83.8% Shelter 73.7%

Don’t expect big surprises It’s okay if there are no earth-shattering results! The results should be interpreted with caution if they show something unexpected. After all, this is a single point in time If your community is thought to have a high rate of Aboriginal homelessness, or lots of people migrating to the community and becoming homeless, etc., the results will probably show this But you never know…maybe the results will force people to reconsider their preconceptions about the homeless population