2019 (Sheltered and Unsheltered Count Year)

• 2019 Full PIT Sheltered and Unsheltered Count Report
• 2019 Youth PIT Sheltered and Unsheltered Count Report - This report is focused on youth experiencing homelessness and. It was completed by the Office of Homeless Youth Services (OHYS) and the Advisory Council for Homeless Youth (ACHY) in Partnership with the BoS CoC, Metro Denver CoC, and Pikes Peak CoC. 

2018 (Sheltered Count Year)

• 2018 Full PIT Sheltered Count Report

2017 (Sheltered and Unsheltered Count Year)

• 2017 Full PIT Sheltered and Unsheltered Count Report

2016 (Sheltered Count Year)

• 2016 Full PIT Sheltered Count Report

BoS Point-in-Time Count (PIT) Information:

The Point-In-Time (PIT) Sheltered and Unsheltered counts are a critical source of data on the number and characteristics of people who are homeless in the United States. The data is used to measure homelessness on a local and national level and are published annually on HUD’s HUD Exchange website, which can be viewed by CoCs and the general public.

The BoS CoC conducts a yearly Point-in-Time (PIT) Sheltered Count and a Biennial PIT Sheltered & Unsheltered Count. Individual regions may choose to conduct yearly unsheltered counts and provide their own reports for such counts.

PIT count data is also provided annually to Congress as part of the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) which is transitioning to the Longitudinal Systems Analysis (LSA). The AHAR (and soon LSA) are used by Congress, HUD, other federal departments, and the general public to understand the nature and extent of homelessness.

Please click the expandable boxes below for more information on the 2019 count!

2019 Sheltered Count Process

During the Sheltered Count, the Balance of State PIT Coordinators, Agencies, and Volunteers will Survey: “An individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangement (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income individuals).”

Surveys can be completed in person or via the agencies Homeless Management Information System as long as the agency collects the HUD required data on the night of the count. 

During a Sheltered Count the Balance of State agencies will also Count the number of individuals who live in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and Rapid Rehousing (RRH). This count is reported to HUD, but is not used in either HUD or BoS CoC reports.

2019 Unsheltered Count Process

During the Unsheltered Count, Balance of State PIT Coordinators, Agencies, and Volunteers Survey individuals and families experiencing homelessness per HUD's Homeless Definition Final Rule: “An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground.” Because communities are surveying people who are experiencing homelessness on the night of Tuesday January 29th, 2018, surveyors will typically begin working Tuesday evening and begin approaching people after 12AM on Wednesday January 30th, going in to early Wednesday morning to make sure counts are accurate with where people slept Tuesday night. 

More information on the Point-in-Time Count can be obtained via the HUD PIT Methodology Guide. Click to expand the "PIT Training Content,  Materials,  and  FAQ's" below to access BoS Point-in-Time Materials once they're available for the BoS 2019 Sheltered and Unsheltered Counts. 

Click here if you'd like to email the CoC Coordinator for more information about the 2019 count, or to join the BoS Point-in-Time Work Group that is helping to plan the 2019 counts!

The Point-in-Time Work Group has worked in consultation with our consultant to develop the following Training Content,  Materials,  and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for the Balance of State Point-in-Time 2019 Sheltered and Unsheltered Counts. Please utilize these tools for your region and work with your regional coordinator to help Colorado better understand how homelessness is impacting our family, neighbors, and friends! Questions about who your regional coordinator is or want to be involved in the PIT Count? Please Click Here to be directed to the appropriate person.

HUD PIT Count Documents

• PIT Count Methodology Guide
• 2019 HIC and PIT Data Collection for CoC and ESG Programs - Notice CPD-18-08
• PIT and HIC Reporting Resources - Including Some Advertising Materials!

PIT Count Coordinator Training Video

• 2019 PIT Count Coordinator Training - This Training is for anyone who Coordinates/Leads Point-in-Time Counts in your Geographic Region. Trainings took place Thursday December 6th, 2018 and Thursday December 13th, 2018. The recording is from the training on 12/13, but contains the same information. 
  • 2019 PIT Count Coordinator Training on Google Drive - Please click the link to access the Google Drive version of the Training. If there are any issues with accessing Google Drive or downloading the file itself, send an email request to shayes@coloradocoalition.org and the file will be emailed.
  • 2019 PIT Count Surveyor Training PDF of the PowerPoint Presentation - PDF of the above PowerPoint used in the 2019 PIT Count Coordinator Training provided to PIT Coordinators and Leads.

PIT Count Surveyor Training Video

• 2019 PIT Count Surveyor Training Recording - Training recorded Tuesday 1/15/2019. There is a large blurred-out section of the video presentation due to an misunderstanding with the Zoom recording. If you'd like to review all of the recording content, please also utilize either the Training PowerPoint or Training PDF in the bullet points below. The training PowerPoint and PDF also contain comments that contain much of the presentation material should you want to review either of these documents instead.
  • 2019 PIT Count Surveyor Training PowerPoint on Google Drive - Please click the link to access the Google Drive version of the Training. If there are any issues with accessing Google Drive or downloading the file itself, send an email request to shayes@coloradocoalition.org and the file will be emailed.
  • 2019 PIT Count Surveyor Training PDF of the PowerPoint Presentation - PDF of the PowerPoint used in the 2019 PIT Count Surveyor Training provided to surveyors on Tuesday 1/15/2018 from 2PM to 3PM. 

PIT Count Support Materials (Please contact Shawn Hayes if you have questions about these forms or require guidance on how to best utilize the forms.)

Sheltered and Unsheltered Count PIT Fact Sheet - A fact sheet that outlines the reason for the Point-in-Time (PIT) Counts, provides information on what information each count is collecting as well as the optional Youth Supplemental Survey, and information on what the responsibilities of the PIT Coordinators are. 

2019 PIT Survey Introductory Instructions & Script - Introductory script for the Sheltered and Unsheltered Count Surveys (See Below). Contains directions/safety precautions for surveyors/volunteers administering the Surveys and a script to use when surveying participants.

2019 Point-in-Time Sheltered Count Forms

• 2019 Sheltered Count Survey Form - Sheltered Count Survey Form for the 2019 Balance of State Continuum of Care Point-in-Time Count. (Please do not edit/modify this form in any way.)
  • 2019 Sheltered Count Survey Form - Fillable - A form PIT Coordinators can utilize to pre-populate program and other data in the Sheltered Survey. (Please do not edit/modify this form in any way.)
• PSH Survey Form 2019 Fillable.pdf - Fillable Permanent Supportive Housing form to Count the number of individuals and families in a particular PSH program on the night of the count.
• RRH Survey Form 2019 Fillable.pdf - Fillable Rapid Rehousing form to count the household types and total number of individuals and families in a particular RRH program on the night of the count.
• Sheltered Count Cover Sheet - Cover Sheet to help organize sheltered surveys. Please make sure to use a separate cover sheet for each program and further for each program type.

2019 Point-in-Time Unsheltered Count Forms

• 2019 Unsheltered Count Survey Form - Unsheltered Count Survey Form for the 2019 Balance of State Continuum of Care Point-in-Time Count. (Please do not edit/modify this form in any way.)
  • 2019 Unsheltered Count Survey Form - Fillable - A form PIT Coordinators can utilize to pre-populate program and other data in the Unsheltered Survey. (Please do not edit/modify this form in any way.)
• 2019 PIT Unsheltered Protocol - Form regions can utilize to organize and run the Unsheltered PIT Count, adapted from the form used in the Northern Colorado region. 
• Unsheltered Count Cover Sheet - Cover Sheet to help organize Unsheltered Count surveys. 

2019 Supplemental Homeless Youth Survey & Count

The BoS CoC is partnering with the Office of Homeless Youth Services (OYS) and the Advisory Council for Homeless Youth (ACHY) to support their Youth Supplemental Survey. Find out more about the Youth Survey on the OYS website by reviewing past reports. The Supplemental Survey is meant to be done in conjunction with the Sheltered and Unsheltered Count for any Unnacompanied Youth experiencing homelessness under the age of 25 (Ages 14-24). 

Supplemental Youth Count Survey Form - Optional Youth Supplemental Survey for regions/counties who are interested in participating. These questions are not reported to HUD. (Please do not edit/modify this form in any way.) All Youth Supplemental Surveys should be included with the Sheltered and Unsheltered PIT Count forms and sent to CCH.

Additional questions about the Supplemental Homeless Youth Survey?

Cheryl Secorski
Homeless Programs Specialist, Youth
(303) 864-7830
cheryl.secorski@state.co.us

Question (paraphrased): "Is there an approved HUD methodology for safely conducting a visual count of populations for places not meant for human habitation, like abandoned buildings, sheds, cars, etc? Can we use visuals to complete most of a survey without actually speaking to the person/family if the volunteer feels this would be a safer method the night of the count?"

Answer:

From the HUD Methodology Guide: When conducting a street count, there are situations in which it might not be possible for enumerators to interview a person in an unsheltered location. It might not be safe to approach someone in an abandoned building or someone who is sleeping. In these instances, it might be necessary to count a person and determine some of his or her characteristics based on observations. An observation tool may be used in these instances to record some characteristics that can be observed by the enumerator. For example, it may be possible to determine a person’s gender, but not his or her veteran status. Sometimes even gender is difficult to record, if for instance a sleeping person is wrapped in blankets or inside a cardboard box. When recording observations, it is important to record as much information as practicable about the physical location where the person is observed (e.g., the street name, any landmarks), as well as the person’s physical description (e.g., clothes, personal belongings) to assist with deduplication."

From CCH: The best way to participate in the Point-in-Time Count is for someone to be surveyed directly. Always survey someone directly if possible. 

When considering places not meant for human habitation, safety, volunteer comfort, etc. a region should always air on the side of safety and caution. Volunteers should be instructed to trust their instincts, stay "buddied-up" with other volunteers, and not enter structures or areas that seem unsafe even if it means not surveying someone who is experiencing homelessness. 

If a volunteer is able to conduct a visual count and feels it is the best option not to disturb the individual or family, they should have visual of the individuals or families staying in the place not meant for human habitation and be able to provide an "accurate" description of the person or families age and as much information on the survey as possible. 

We recommend writing "OBS" in the space for both the first and last name to identify the survey as an observation, along with an identifier to separate the observation surveys. For example: "OBS1", "OBS2", etc.

Using observation data should be a last resort because it may lead to less accurate data. Information like a person's veteran status or disability, and even their gender/race can not always be gleaned from observation. Additionally, using observation data can increase the probability of a duplication in the count if the person or family complete a survey later that night or following and do not realize they've already been counted.

Question: 

Additional Questions? Email Shawn here: shayes@coloradocoalition.org

The BoS Housing Inventory Count (HIC)

The HIC is an inventory of projects within your CoC that provide beds and units dedicated to serving persons who are homeless. It is intended to provide HUD and CoCs with information about the shelter and housing capacity of homeless crisis response systems. It should reflect the number of beds and units available on the night designated for the count that are dedicated to serve persons who are homeless (and, for permanent housing projects, persons who were homeless at entry), per the HUD homeless definition. 

You may access past years HIC reports via the Hudexchange website by clicking HERE, searching for the Colorado Balance of State CoC report along with the year of interest. 

Important: The Housing Inventory Count includes all shelters and housing programs, not just those that receive HUD funding. By being included in the count and also participating in the Point-in-Time Count, you can help bring additional resources to your community. If you have a shelter or housing program that you would like to be included in the Balance of State's Housing Inventory Count, please contact us HERE.