Every year, Montgomery County participates in a “Point-in-Time (PIT) Street Count” that provides a snapshot of the community’s homeless population. The next count is scheduled for the overnight hours on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and volunteers are needed.
Volunteers are organized in teams to go out to designated locations where it is believed unsheltered persons may be located. Training will be provided to prepare volunteers to engage with people experiencing homelessness and to conduct the survey.
This count is done throughout the United States to identify people who might be residing on the streets, in cars, on campgrounds, under bridges, or in similar places.
The annual count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to qualify for Federal funding. In addition, state and local agencies use the data gathered to allocate resources.
County Executive Marc Elrich said, “I encourage willing and interested Montgomery County residents to come out and volunteer. The information we gather from this event is critical to our efforts in ensuring that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
Montgomery County’s annual Point-In-Time (PIT) Street Count is scheduled for the overnight hours of Wednesday, Jan. 25, and volunteers are needed to help survey unsheltered individuals and households.
Learn more ➡️ https://t.co/is82u2IWfC pic.twitter.com/eU1HKUNU52
— Montgomery County DHHS (@MoCoDHHS) December 20, 2022
There will be a hybrid training at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Mid-County Department of Health and Human Services Building, which is located at 1301 Piccard Drive in Rockville. The in-person training is recommended for first-time volunteers, with the hybrid option for returning volunteers. Register to volunteer here by Jan. 20.
More information about the county’s vision of “Housing for All” is available online. The PIT flyer may be found online also.
This short video from a previous year describes the survey:
