2009 Georgia Homeless Count

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

770-632-7872jmassey@mindspring.com

2009 Georgia Homeless Count