Counting Homeless In Mecklenburg County
The idea behind this effort to count our homeless neighbors in Mecklenburg Couty and to ensure Point-in-Time Count volunteers have the best chance of positive interaction to complete the survey, media outlets are encouraged to interview/photograph volunteers, not homeless individuals unless the individual has agreed. How it works is, the volunteers will conduct interviews on streets and in neighborhoods uptown as part of a week-long event to count the number of homeless individuals across Mecklenburg County.
The Point in Time Count (PIT) is a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandated activity. The PIT is required for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care (CoC) to receive federal homelessness funding assistance from HUD. However, Charlotte-Mecklenburg takes this opportunity to go above and beyond the required activities. The PIT is when our community comes together to survey each person experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness on one night. It is also when we capture an inventory of temporary and permanent housing capacity across the housing continuum. Volunteers canvass streets, soup kitchens, shelters, and camps to administer a brief federally generated survey. Additionally, volunteers ask locally generated questions; distribute donated winter-weather items (such as sleeping bags and gloves); and share resources, all as part of the PIT Count. The additional information gathered is intended to inform local decision-making. Be kind when you see someone who is homeless because it could be you in the same position.
