What is a Point in Time Count?

The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single day in January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that Continuums of Care (CoC) conduct an annual count of people experiencing homelessness who are unsheltered, as well as sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens on a single night. Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally.

As Pima County’s CoC, TPCH leads the PIT count each year, which locally is called Everyone Counts! —Pima County Street Count. The data collected during Everyone Counts! delivers insight into our community’s homeless population and service gaps. It provides a snapshot of what homelessness looks like on a single night in Pima County.

Basics of the Count

The 2024 Everyone Counts!—Pima County Street Count (PIT) is scheduled for January 24, 2024, and will ask where our community members experiencing homelessness slept the prior night. Communities across the nation will be completing similar counts during the last week of January to help inform a national understanding of homelessness. During the count, 300+ trained vaccinated Everyone Counts! volunteers and staff interview individuals, youth and families experiencing homelessness from across Pima County using a standardized electronic survey.

Everyone Counts! Roles:

Interviewers - Volunteers will go to a specific assigned area (sector) in Pima County to interview people experiencing homelessness in those areas and complete surveys in a smart phone app. Interviewers will be required to participate in a in-person small group training and sector team meeting. Interviewers will work with other volunteers under the direction of their team lead. Interviewers are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and wear a mask while interviewing people in the community.

Team Leads - Volunteers will lead a team of interviewers to a specific assigned area (sector) in Pima County and assist interviewers in their effort to reach as many people experiencing homelessness as possible. Prior to the PIT Count Day, Team Leads will need to: (1) attend a team lead training and pick up supplies for their team; (2) organize a small group training and planning meeting with their team; and (3) scope out their sector(s) and assess any special needs or potential barriers. Team Leads should have experience with the PIT Count, be familiar with the Tucson metro area, be willing to communicate with their team and will be required to attend a training. Team Leads are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and wear a mask while interacting with their team and interviewing people in the community.

Supply Runners - Supply runners will be on standby to distribute supplies (i.e., gift cards) to Team Leads and Interviews across sectors in Pima County in their personal vehicle on the morning of the PIT Count. Supply Runners will need to be available from 7am-11am to distribute supplies. Supply Runners will work in assigned pairs (2 Supply Runners per vehicle). They will not need to leave their vehicle to do this work, but will need access to a mobile device to communicate with Team Leads and Interviewers, as well as to locate these team members using virtual maps. Supply Runners DO NOT need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and will only need to wear a mask while interacting with team members when handing off supplies.

Administrative Support - Administrative Supports will be available a few days before the count to communicate important information to volunteers prior to the PIT Count. Administrative Supports will need access to a mobile device to communicate with Team Leads and Interviews via email, phone calls and text messages. Administrative Supports DO NOT need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and will work remotely.

Why do we Count?

The annual Everyone Counts!—Pima County Street Count advances our community’s work to prevent and end homeless by:

• Providing an estimated number of people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Pima County. Everyone Counts! is currently our best method for determining how many people are living unsheltered in our region; those who are living in a shelter and longer-term programs are separately counted by those programs.
• Providing data to better understand who in our community is experiencing homelessness and what service gaps exist in community systems.
• Engaging communities to learn about the presence of homelessness and encourage collaboration regionally to work towards ending homelessness in our community.
• Provides an evidence base for applying for HUD funding, as completion of the PIT count is a requirement for all communities that receive HUD funding.
• Produces a standard set of data, comparable and available nationwide. PIT count numbers are reported to Congress by HUD, are often cited in the media, and are used by our community for grant writing and community planning. Community, faith-based, and local governments all utilize this information.