volunteers needed, Point-in-Time Count of homeless

Posted by City of Philadelphia on January 5, 2018

City seeks volunteers for annual count of homeless

Every year, Philadelphia, with the support of hundreds of volunteers, conducts a Point-in-Time (PIT) Count of all persons experiencing homelessness on the streets, in shelter, and in other temporary housing. The purpose of the count is to estimate the size of the population in need of homeless housing and supportive services. The Point-in-Time Count is planned for and executed by the Office of Homeless Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services, Project HOME, Valley Youth House, and the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center.

In preparation for the 2018 Count, which will begin at 10:30pm on the night of January 24th and conclude at 7pm on January 25th, we are recruiting volunteers to play various roles at different times to support the execution of the Count. Volunteers must be available to attend a 1 hour training in advance of the PIT Count.

If you want to and are available to volunteer, please find additional information about the types of opportunities and let us know your interest at the 2018 Point-in-Time Count registration page.

http://ohs.vm-host.net/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=2466&qid=75126

Providers: We are especially interested in recruiting people with lived experience with homelessness to volunteer, so if you run a program and have participants interested in volunteering, please submit their information for consideration at the 2018 Point-in-Time Count registration page. These volunteer opportunities will be filled based on a lottery system. A reminder that if your organization received HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) funding, it is mandatory that at least 2 staff from your organization volunteer for the Count.

Thank you for your commitment to and partnership in making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in the City of Philadelphia.

If you have any questions about the PIT Count or if your organization is interested in supporting the count through a hygiene drive, please contact Robin Hernandez (RobinHernandez@projecthome.org), PIT Count Coordinator at Project HOME. For any questions relating to the youth count, please contact Libby Mathewson (lmathewson@valleyyouthhouse.org) at Valley Youth House. Any additional questions or concerns can also be directed to Gina Ruggieri (gina.ruggieri@phila.gov) at the Office of Homeless Services.