Gwen Beebe, Council for the Homeless
Every year during the end of January, Council for the Homeless conducts a one-night count of people experiencing homelessness in Clark County. Known as the Point in Time Count, those living on the street, in shelters, transitional housing, or fleeing domestic violence will be counted on January 30, 2020 in alignment with Washington State requirements.
One component of the Point in Time Count is the street count. This is where teams work with service locations and street outreach to locate people who are unhoused, ask them a short series of questions and provide necessary items like toothbrushes and new socks. Survey responses help provide valuable information, direct support services and inform funding decisions in our community and beyond. Those sleeping in nightly shelters, emergency shelters, and transitional housing will be counted through the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
Finding people in our county who are unhoused in a single day is an enormous task! Council for the Homeless coordinates multiple agencies and volunteers to meet the goals of the project. Locations that provide services to people who may experience homelessness are surveying their clients. In addition, Council for the Homeless hosts Project Homeless Connect on the same day, a one-day resource fair for people without homes. This is an opportunity to share resources and invite people without homes to be counted for the PIT Count.
- If you are able to help count people, either at a service location or out in the field with an outreach team, we need your help.
- If you work or volunteer with a service provider that could collect paper surveys from visitors who are homeless on the day of the Point in Time count, we need your help.
- Sign-up here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWRQyn9wMs23J69dAZ2GVHAgNR50yHOp1_-eS3gW972EPiXQ/viewform) through Wednesday, January 22, if interested in helping.
This is a valuable opportunity to volunteer for a single day, show kindness to neighbors who are unhoused, and contribute to a count that influences services and funding.
Council for the Homeless will host two Point in Time count volunteer training events this year. Our afternoon training is on Thursday, January 16, from 2:00-3:30 and our evening training is on Wednesday. January 22, from 5:30 to 7:00, both in the VHA Community Room at 2500 Main St, Vancouver, WA 98660. Please come to whichever training best suits your schedule; the same material will be covered at both events. If you are unable to attend a training, you are welcome to sign up to volunteer anyway through Wednesday, January 22. We can still use your help!
We are grateful for your support! If you have questions, please contact Dale Whitley at 360-993-9571.