2015 POINT-IN-TIME COUNT Results. April 2015

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1 POINT-IN-TIME COUNT Results April

2 SURVEY WEEK OVERIVEW Survey Week was a joint project between the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness (NMCEH) and Heading Home. The goals of Survey Week were to conduct a Point-in-Time (PIT) count and to identify who among those experiencing homelessness most needed supportive housing, based on medical vulnerability and other factors. To accomplish these goals, we set out to conduct a Housing Status and Vulnerability Survey of everyone experiencing homelessness during Survey Week, which took place the last week of January. The survey asked participants about where they stayed the night of the PIT count, and for demographic information such as whether they were a veteran or whether they had children with them. The survey also asked participants more personal questions to help identify what type of support they need to obtain housing, including if they have experienced mental health or substance abuse challenges, if they have experienced violence while on the streets, or if they have a chronic illness. Over 200 community members volunteered to help conduct the Housing Status and Vulnerability Survey. Volunteers went out into the streets in the early morning hours to find people who were sleeping outside. Volunteers also went to overnight shelters, day shelters, soup kitchens and other social service locations that serve people experiencing homelessness. For the purposes of the PIT count, the surveying allowed us to identify and count people who did not stay in sheltered location on the night of the PIT count. For people who stayed in emergency shelter or transitional housing on the night of our PIT count, we also obtained information directly from emergency shelters and transitional housing programs about the participants staying in their programs that night. This information was collected either through an agency PIT count survey or through the Homeless Management Information System, which is a database that all federally funded homeless programs are required to use. Point-in-Time Count Results This report presents the PIT count results. The PIT count is a count of the number of people who experienced homelessness in Albuquerque on one night. The night of our PIT count was Monday, January 26,. This provides a snapshot of how many people experience homelessness at a single point in time and an opportunity to collect some basic demographic information about who experiences homelessness in our community. This information is a critical part of our Continuum of Care application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for federal funding for programs that serve people experiencing homelessness. This information also gives our local community some data to measure whether we are making progress in ending homelessness. For purposes of the Point-in-Time Count, HUD considers a person to be homeless if he or she is staying in an emergency shelter, in a transitional housing program or if the household is sleeping outside or in a place not meant for human habitation. This report provides a count of the number of people experiencing homelessness according to HUD s definition.

3 The chart on page 3 presents both the and PIT count results. We used very similar methodologies for both counts so it is valid, to some extent, to compare the two counts. The count was 116 people higher than the count. One possible reason that the PIT count was higher is, of course, that homelessness has increased over the last two years. Although the number of Rapid ReHousing and Permanent Supportive Housing beds has increased since, it is possible that the number of people experiencing homelessness has grown at a faster pace. New Mexico is still recovering from the economic recession, and many people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness have significant barriers to obtaining employment, especially employment with high enough wages to pay for housing. However, there are other possible factors that are important to consider when comparing the PIT counts. Each year we improve our PIT count process, and a stronger PIT count process means that we are likely to count more people particularly people who were unsheltered the night of the PIT count. For example, this year we were able to offer a $5 gift card to anyone who took the survey which means that participation in the survey was likely higher than it had been in previous years (some people did take the survey more than once, but we were able to remove duplicate surveys from the analysis). Although the number of homeless families was lower than in, the number of people in those families actually increased. This is consistent with anecdotal reports that service providers are seeing an increasing number of large families. For the first time in, we were able to obtain PIT count data for the Winter Only Shelter from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). HMIS likely provided more accurate demographic data, including a better count of homeless veterans and chronically homeless people. There were significantly more people staying at the Winter Only Shelter in than in. It is possible that more people were aware of and/or willing to use the Winter Only Shelter in, and that these same people were unsheltered in and were thus harder to find and harder to count. Many people move in and out of homelessness, especially when we use HUD s relatively narrow definition of homelessness. For example, a person may pay for a hotel room one night, and then sleep outside the next night. That person would not be considered homeless on the first night, but would be considered homeless on the second night. A certain fluctuation in the numbers is inevitable in a pointtime-count, which provides just a snapshot of a single night. It is also important to remember that the PIT count does not include people who are doubled up with family or friends in unsafe, overcrowded or unstable living conditions (including couch surfing) and people who are living in motels. This includes many families with children and unaccompanied teenagers. Thus, our PIT count does not capture changes in rates of homelessness among people in these unstable living situations. Ultimately, it is difficult to say which of these factors is most relevant. The Point-in-Time Count should be considered a minimum estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness, under HUD s definition, on one night in Albuquerque. However, even with those limitations, the PIT Count provides important data about homelessness in our community that we can use to develop effective strategies for ending homelessness in Albuquerque.

4 and Point-in-Time Count Results and and Adults Without Children Number adults without children Families With Children Number of families with kids Number of people in those families (adults and children) Youth (Under Age 18) Number of youth PIT Count All Populations Homeless Veterans Number of homeless veterans Chronically Homeless Number of chronically homeless people The chart on page 4 provides some additional sub-population data about those experiencing homelessness on January 26,.

5 Point-in-Time Count Sub-Population Data Gender Female Male Transgender Ethnicity Non-Hispanic/Latino Hispanic/Latino Race White Black or African American Asian American Indian or Alaska Native Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Multiple Races Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Adults with Serious Mental Illness Adults with Substance Abuse Domestic Violence Adult Victims of Domestic Violence Age Under Age Age 24 or older