LUBBOCK, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) – The following is a news release from the South Plains Homeless Consortium:
On January 23,2020 the South Plains Homeless Consortium, in association with the Texas Homeless Network and volunteers from the community will take part in the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Homeless Count, a coordinated effort to measure homelessness across Texas.
Over the course of a 24-hour period, trained volunteers will count and survey individuals who are staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations. Our PIT Count will provide a “snapshot” of homelessness in Lubbock.
“In recent years, the number of people surveyed in the Lubbock PIT has decreased from 434 in 2017 to 293 in 2019, a decrease of 32%,” says PIT Lead, Chad Wheeler. “The 2020 Count will help us see if this trend has changed or continued.”
But the PIT is more than just a count. Through surveying those counted, the PIT will improve our understanding of the needs and circumstances of the people experiencing homelessness in our community. The survey will provide us with key data on gender, age, ethnicity, veteran status, and more.
The PIT indicates the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in our community. Other forms of homelessness, such as people staying temporarily with friends, are not included in a PIT Count.
Results from the PIT Count will be publically available and we will use the results of the PIT Count to improve our response to homelessness. In the future, successive counts will allow us to measure progress towards our ultimate goal: ending homelessness in Lubbock.
Contact Information:
Chad Wheeler, PIT Lead Coordinator, 806-543-0526
Erica Hitt, PIT Co-Coordinator, 806-939-3487
(News release from the South Plains Homeless Consortium)
