[Durham INC] Durham's Point-In-Time Count Begins Tomorrow

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 ext. 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

 

 

 

For Immediate Release: January 24, 2012

 

 

 

Durham's Point-In-Time Count Begins Tomorrow

Annual Count Documents Number of Homeless People to Help Durham Develop
and Implement 

Tailored Housing and Service Programs

 

DURHAM, N.C. - Durham's annual Point-In-Time Count will take place
tomorrow, where approximately 90 community volunteers along with service
provider agencies will count the number of homeless people staying in
shelters and transitional housing as well as those that are living
unsheltered.

 

Durham's Point-In-Time Count will be conducted between the hours of 6
p.m. on Wednesday, January 25 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 26. Since
1999, Durham's Continuum of Care Lead Agency has been conducting a
sheltered and unsheltered count annually and all Durham programs
providing emergency shelter and transitional housing that is dedicated
for occupancy by homeless people participate in the annual Point-In-Time
Count. In 2011, Durham's Point-In-Time Count documented 652 homeless
people in Durham, including 82 children and 58 unsheltered homeless
adults. The total of 652 was down from the record high of 675 people
counted in 2010. 

 

Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)
mandates that communities across the nation conduct a count of homeless
people staying in shelters and transitional housing annually in the last
ten days of January and a count of unsheltered homeless people every
other year. HUD uses Point-In-Time Count information from around the
nation to report to Congress annually on how many people across the
nation experience homelessness, to better understand who and why people
are homeless, and to design and implement federal programs to assist
homeless people with housing and the support services they may need to
maintain their housing.

 

According to Kaaren Johanson, coordinator of Volunteer Services at
Measurement, Inc., a member of Durham's Homeless Services Advisory
Committee, and the coordinator of this year's Point-In-Time Count, this
annual event arms the Durham community with specific information that
can help homeless housing providers tailor programs and services. "In
addition to the basic count of Durham's homeless people and some
subpopulation information, such as the number of veterans who are
homeless, Durham's homeless adults complete a Demographic & Needs
Survey," Johanson said "The survey provides a more complete picture of a
homeless person's situation, which in turn is used by Durham providers
to understand the specific needs of Durham's homeless population and to
develop and implement coordinated housing and service programs to assist
them."    

 

In order to ensure all homeless people are included in tomorrow's count,
any religious congregation or other organization that may have paid for
a hotel room for a homeless person or family for the night of January 25
is asked to contact Lloyd Schmeidler with the City's Community
Development Department by email at Lloyd.Schmeidler at DurhamNC.gov or by
phone at (919) 560-4570 ext. 22267.

 

For more information about this year's Point-In-Time Count, contact
Kaaren Johanson by email at kjohanson at measinc.com or by phone at (919)
451-7203.

 

About the Community Development Department

The City of Durham's Community Development Department is responsible for
coordinating the City's housing resources and various housing assistance
programs as well as promoting affordable housing by working with
investors and community housing development organizations. The
department also provides assistance with the abatement of lead in older
homes and administers the City's entitlement programs from the U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban Development. Guided by the City's
Strategic Plan, the department helps to ensure that the City has
thriving, livable neighborhoods by enhancing housing quality and
affordability for Durham residents. To learn more, visit 
http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/cb/cdd/Pages/Home.aspx. 

 

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