PHILADELPHIA — Several hundred volunteers joined the Office of Homeless Services (OHS), homeless outreach workers, and homeless advocacy organizations for the City’s annual Point-in-Time Count, fanning out Wednesday night across Philadelphia to measure street homelessness. Volunteers and workers visit known areas where people experiencing homelessness tend to gather along with canvassing the streets in every one of Philly’s almost 50 zip codes.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development requires OHS to do the count. OHS then coordinates with the City’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Project HOME, and Valley Youth House to carry it out.
Participants all met on North Broad Street at Congregation Rodeph Shalom for a kick off event at 11 p.m. and then immediately hit the streets.
“The Point-in-Time Count is simply a starting point,” explained OHS Director Liz Hersh. “It’s one aspect of who we are, but it’s not all that we are. It’s a component of what the Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to determine millions of dollars in funding along with about a dozen other performance measures. It’s not just about who is physically on the street, either. We cross-reference tonight’s street count with our numbers of families and individuals in emergency and temporary homeless programs.”
OHS then sends the numbers to Washington to fulfill federal grant requirements. The data also gives federal policymakers a snapshot in time about America’s ongoing homelessness crisis.
With that in mind, the count focuses specifically on those defined by HUD, in part, for their reporting requirements: those living on the street, in areas unfit for human habitation like cars, or those living in emergency and temporary housing.
“We recognize that many people who are living doubled up or in extremely unstable situations need help,” Hersh added, “and we welcome a serious conversation about what the reality is facing millions of Americans — and thousands of Philadelphians. Tonight, we are focusing on one component of America’s homelessness and affordable housing crisis.”
The count also has a component for youth, defined as people under the age of 24, happening after the Point-in-Time Count. Given the unique circumstances facing youth experiencing homelessness, OHS applies additional sensitivity and methodology for the Youth Count together with OHS partner Valley Youth House.
The event is possible only because of the steadfast dedication of volunteers and homeless advocacy organizations and service providers.
“It’s clear that homelessness and related issues of housing security and affordability mean a great deal to many Philadelphians to where they’d volunteer overnight,” Hersh said. “You don’t show up at 11 p.m. and then go out for hours with an outreach team unless you care. We are about thirty years in on America’s homelessness crisis, and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen to where more and more people are now falling through the cracks. It’s up to us — both everyday people in neighborhoods and officials at every level of government — to pay attention.”
OHS will release preliminary data on the count in March. Officials then release final totals to HUD in late April.