2009 Georgia Homeless Count

1. 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

2. Objective Count of homeless and precariously housed families and individuals • Understand the scope of the problem locally and statewide • HUD requirement for McKinney-Vento Programs 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

3. Count Methodology for Unsheltered and Precariously Housed • Housing screening surveys administered at service locations and places where homeless people congregate or live • Point In Time: January 25, 2009 • Surveys collected January 26-31 • Surveys returned to KSU for data input 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

4. Who Is Homeless In Georgia? Unsheltered Homeless * Streets * Camping * Car * Dilapidated/Abandoned Housing * Sheltered Homeless * Emergency Shelter * Transitional Housing * Motel Vouchers * Precariously Housed * Doubled Up * Motels * 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

5. Definitions Unsheltered homeless – living on the street, in cars, camping, in abandoned housing/buildings Sheltered homeless – living in transitional housing, emergency shelters, or in a hotel/motel with stay paid by service provider Precariously housed – doubled up or in hotels/motels Imminent Housing Loss and/or Dilapidated Housing – facing loss of housing within a week or living in housing not fit for habitation Other – jail, hospital, or other non-permanent housing 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

6. Questionnaire • Designed to be administered by staff or by volunteers • No more than 10 minutes • Questions to help with problem of duplication • Housing status questions • Family members • Special circumstances 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

7. Survey Collection 2008 Count – most successful counts collected between 100-500 surveys 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

8. Who Is Surveyed? • People whose housing is unstable, precarious, or a problem • Screening Question: Have you had any difficulty with housing in the past month? 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

9. Where To Survey • Where people go for services • Where people congregate (library, hospital, bus station, day labor sites) • On the telephone – people seeking assistance • Where people live -- Count people living in abandoned houses or trailers, farm buildings, or encampments • Proactively seek out people to survey 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

10. Organizing Your Count • Create count committee or task force • Meet with representatives of City and County government • Meet with agencies providing services • Brief them on plans for January count • Solicit their ideas on other places to count • Get their commitment to participate • Do they need volunteers? • Identify “hot spots” • Identify interviewers for “hot spots” 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

11. Preparing for the Count • Potential participating organizations/locations for administering the survey • DFACS • Housing Authority • Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens • Clothing Programs • Shelters • Community Service Board • Health Department • Nonprofits • Day Labor Sites 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

12. Other Potential Partners • Local government • Police Chief and Sheriff • Media • Churches • Family Connections • School and hospital social workers • Others? 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

13. Action Ministries ADAC Adult Protective Services Babies Can’t Wait/ Children With Special Needs Carter Hope Cherokee Estates Dalton Community Center Dalton Public Schools Dalton-Whitfield CDC DEO Medical Clinic Dept. Juvenile Justice DFCS DOC-UP Early Head Start Family Crisis Center Family Support Council First Steps Georgia Hope Hamilton Home Health/Hospice Harvest Outreach Head Start Healthy Families Highland Rivers Motels, Transitional, Emergency Shelter New Hope Women’s Center NW GA Health District/HIV Support Oak Haven Promotoras de Salud Providence Ministries Red Cross Salvation Army United Methodist Children’s Home United Way – 211 Upper Room Mission Westcott Whitfield County Jail (Men & Women) Whitfield County Schools Women’s After Care Dalton/Whitfield Homeless Point in Time Count Contact Organizations

14. Surveying Where People Live Counting people living in dilapidated housing, abandoned trailers, farm buildings, or encampments • Survey at those locations • Establish safety guidelines • Volunteer release form 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

15. Counting Where People Congregate • Bus or train station • Library • Parks • Other Places? 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

16. Volunteer Safety • Work in teams of two or more • Consult law enforcement • Ask people familiar with the area 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

17. Incentives • Consider giving small gift bags or fast food coupons to survey participants • Provides a way for others in the community to get involved • Way of thanking survey participants for their help 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

18. Surveying on the Telephone • Identify agencies that receive calls for help • When people call seeking assistance • Assist them as normal • Then ask caller if they would be willing to answer a few questions to help the community learn more about housing needs 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

19. Shelter Count • Shelter Count • DCA will conduct a count to obtain aggregate data • Surveys will give more detailed information • People coming to shelters later in the week • Jails and Hospitals 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

20. Training Staff and Volunteers • Train the trainer sessions in early January • Schedule local training during the week prior to the count • Training materials from DCA 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

21. Pre Count Advertising • Notify local news media • Good way to recruit volunteers • Organizations to collect data • Incentives 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

22. What a Successful Count Needs • All of the identified organizations on-board and organized to collect the surveys • Trained staff and volunteers • Community support 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

23. Returning Completed Surveys • Pick up surveys on Feb. 2nd • Copy completed surveys • Return Originals to KSU (addresses provided) by Feb. 9th 2009 Georgia Homeless Count

24. Need Help? Dr. Jane Massey Massey Consulting 770-632-7872 jmassey@mindspring.com 2009 Georgia Homeless Count