2009 Georgia Homeless Count. Objective Count of homeless and precariously housed families and...
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Transcript of 2009 Georgia Homeless Count. Objective Count of homeless and precariously housed families and...
ObjectiveCount of homeless andprecariously housed families and
individuals
•Understand the scope of the problem locally and statewide•HUD requirement for McKinney-Vento Programs
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Count Methodology for Unsheltered and Precariously Housed
• Housing screening surveys administered at service locations and places where homeless people congregate or live
• Point In Time: January 25, 2009• Surveys collected January 26-31• Surveys returned to KSU for data
input
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Who Is Homeless In Georgia?
Unsheltered Homeless* Streets * Camping * Car *
Dilapidated/Abandoned Housing *
Sheltered Homeless* Emergency Shelter * Transitional Housing * Motel
Vouchers *
Precariously Housed* Doubled Up * Motels *
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Definitions•Unsheltered homeless – living on the street, in cars, camping, in abandoned housing/buildings
•Sheltered homeless – living in transitional housing, emergency shelters, or in a hotel/motel with stay paid by service provider
•Precariously housed – doubled up or in hotels/motels
•Imminent Housing Loss and/or Dilapidated Housing – facing loss of housing within a week or living in housing not fit for habitation
•Other – jail, hospital, or other non-permanent housing
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Questionnaire• Designed to be administered by
staff or by volunteers• No more than 10 minutes• Questions to help with problem of duplication• Housing status questions• Family members • Special circumstances
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Survey Collection
2008 Count – most successful counts collected between 100-500 surveys
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Who Is Surveyed?• People whose housing is unstable,
precarious, or a problem• Screening Question: Have you
had any difficulty with housing in the past month?
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Where To Survey
• Where people go for services• Where people congregate (library,
hospital, bus station, day labor sites)
• On the telephone – people seeking assistance
• Where people live -- Count people living in abandoned houses or trailers, farm buildings, or encampments
• Proactively seek out people to survey
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Organizing Your Count• Create count committee or task force• Meet with representatives of City and
County government• Meet with agencies providing services
Brief them on plans for January countSolicit their ideas on other places to
countGet their commitment to participateDo they need volunteers?
• Identify “hot spots”• Identify interviewers for “hot spots”
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Preparing for the Count• Potential participating
organizations/locations for administering the survey• DFACS• Housing Authority• Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens• Clothing Programs• Shelters• Community Service Board• Health Department• Nonprofits• Day Labor Sites
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Other Potential Partners• Local government• Police Chief and Sheriff• Media• Churches• Family Connections• School and hospital social workers• Others?
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Dalton/Whitfield Homeless Point in Time Count Contact Organizations
• Action Ministries• ADAC• Adult Protective Services• Babies Can’t Wait/ Children
With Special Needs• Carter Hope • Cherokee Estates• Dalton Community Center• Dalton Public Schools• Dalton-Whitfield CDC• DEO Medical Clinic• Dept. Juvenile Justice• DFCS • DOC-UP• Early Head Start• Family Crisis Center• Family Support Council• First Steps• Georgia Hope• Hamilton Home
Health/Hospice• Harvest Outreach
• Head Start• Healthy Families• Highland Rivers• Motels, Transitional,
Emergency Shelter• New Hope Women’s Center• NW GA Health District/HIV
Support• Oak Haven• Promotoras de Salud• Providence Ministries• Red Cross• Salvation Army • United Methodist Children’s
Home• United Way – 211• Upper Room Mission• Westcott• Whitfield County Jail (Men &
Women) • Whitfield County Schools• Women’s After Care
Surveying Where People LiveCounting people living in dilapidated
housing, abandoned trailers, farm buildings, or encampments
• Survey at those locations• Establish safety guidelines• Volunteer release form
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Counting Where People Congregate• Bus or train station• Library• Parks• Other Places?
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Volunteer Safety• Work in teams of two or more• Consult law enforcement• Ask people familiar with the area
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Incentives• Consider giving small gift bags or
fast food coupons to survey participants
• Provides a way for others in the community to get involved
• Way of thanking survey participants for their help
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Surveying on the Telephone
• Identify agencies that receive calls for help
• When people call seeking assistance• Assist them as normal• Then ask caller if they would be
willing to answer a few questions to help the community learn more about housing needs
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Shelter Count• Shelter Count
DCA will conduct a count to obtain aggregate data
Surveys will give more detailed information
People coming to shelters later in the week
• Jails and Hospitals
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Training Staff and Volunteers• Train the trainer sessions in
early January• Schedule local training during
the week prior to the count• Training materials from DCA
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Pre Count Advertising• Notify local news media• Good way to recruit volunteers• Organizations to collect data• Incentives
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
What a Successful Count Needs
• All of the identified organizations on-board and organized to collect the surveys
• Trained staff and volunteers• Community support
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Returning Completed Surveys• Pick up surveys on Feb. 2nd• Copy completed surveys• Return Originals to KSU (addresses provided) by Feb. 9th
2009 Georgia Homeless Count
Need Help?
Dr. Jane MasseyMassey Consulting
2009 Georgia Homeless Count