Homeless Count
The biannual homeless count is a comprehensive census designed
to identify the number and composition of the homeless in Tarrant
and Parker Counties on a given day, or "point-in-time." This
number serves as a benchmark in which the community estimates the
number of persons that will experience homelessness over the course
of a year, referred to as the "annualized count" of the
homeless.
Homeless who reside in emergency shelters and transitional
housing programs are counted every year through the Homeless
Management Information System (HMIS).
The Tarrant County Homeless Coalition coordinates a census and
survey of the homeless not only to fulfill the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirement for federal funding
for housing and supportive services through the Continuum of Care,
but also in order to understand the changing trends, extent, and
nature of homelessness in Tarrant and Parker Counties. The data
assists in measuring the degree of success in ending
homelessness.
TCHC conducts a count and survey of the unsheltered homeless on
the fourth Thursday of January every other year. The next homeless
count will be conducted on Thursday, January 27, 2011 from 9:00 pm
until approximately 2:00 am. Planning, organizing, volunteer
recruitment, and training for the count will begin in October
2010.
In order to conduct a complete and accurate count of the
homeless throughout Tarrant and Parker Counties, over 500
volunteers are needed. Volunteers should be 18 years and older.
Representatives are needed from every homeless service provider
organization within the Continuum of Care. Volunteers from all
walks of life are asked to participate including:
- Municipal workers
- Social service providers
- College and university students
- Community service clubs
- School district staff
- Business and neighborhood associations
- Board members and other volunteers from nonprofit agencies
- Current and formerly homeless persons
The January 27, 2011 homeless count will take place throughout
Tarrant and Parker Counties with a primary concentration of
volunteers in Fort Worth and Arlington, which have the highest
homeless population. Homeless count staging areas will be located
in Fort Worth, Arlington, and in northeast Tarrant County.
Volunteers will sign in and receive their count assignment at these
locations then be deployed throughout the counties.
Fort Worth and Arlington have been divided into counting routes
with smaller routes in high impact zones where homeless encampments
are common, such as under bridges, in parks, and in wooded right of
ways.
The Parker County count effort is traditionally led by The
Center of Hope located in Weatherford.
Persons counted are individuals and families that are
considered homeless on the day of the count based on the definition
of homelessness provided by
HUD:
A person is considered homeless only when he/she resides in
places not meant for human habitation such as cars, parks,
sidewalks, and abandoned buildings. Other persons that will be
counted as homeless include persons residing in an emergency
shelter, domestic violence shelter, shelters for runaway or
homeless youth, and persons enrolled in a transitional housing
program who originally came from the streets or emergency shelters.
Homeless persons who are in hospital emergency rooms or
participating in the Room In The Inn program during the hours of
the count are also included in the official unsheltered count.
Persons that will NOT be counted as homeless include:
- Persons in residential treatment facilities, chemical
dependency facilities, or criminal justice facilities;
- Children or youth residing in temporary emergency foster care
or detention facilities;
- Persons precariously housed (e.g., on the edge of becoming
homeless who may be doubled up with friends or living in motels,
hotels, or bunkhouses);
- Formerly homeless persons living in permanent supportive
housing or other permanent housing, such as Section 8 SRO, Shelter
Plus Care, and SHP.
On the evening of the count, hundreds of trained volunteers will
go to the staging areas to check-in and receive their homeless
count packets including maps, instructions, and count survey forms,
then deploy to their assigned areas. The volunteers will canvas the
mapped area interviewing homeless individuals, then return to
the staging area to submit their results.
HUD Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless
People
This guide describes methods for organizing and
counting the unsheltered homeless. Information about
these approaches was gathered from communities throughout the
country; examples of their methods are provided throughout the
guide.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development released the
first edition of this guide in October 2004 and the second edition
in September 2006. This updated version clarifies HUD standards for
counting homeless persons moving forward.
HUD Guide to Counting the Sheltered Homeless
People
This guide helps Continuums of Care (CoCs) prepare annual
applications for homeless assistance funds and meet Congressional
directives to improve the quality of information on
homelessness.
The Continuum of Care Application for McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance requires CoCs to produce statistically reliable,
unduplicated counts or estimates of homeless persons in sheltered
and unsheltered locations on a single night. CoCs are also asked to
report the number of homeless persons in subpopulation categories:
chronically homeless, severely mentally ill, chronic substance
abusers, veterans, persons with HIV/AIDS, victims of domestic
violence, and unaccompanied youth (under 18 years of age).
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