Guidance for Counting Homeless Veterans in 2011 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count

 

Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the country undertake community-wide efforts to collect information on the number and characteristics of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires CoCs to complete this point-in-time (PIT) count at least every two years during the last ten days of January. 2011 is a required year, and planning for conducting the count is underway. It is critically important that homeless service providers, whether HUD-funded or not, participate in planning for and conducting the PIT count. In particular, CoCs should be sure to reach out to providers serving homeless Veterans to ensure the accurate and appropriate collection of PIT data for this subpopulation.

 

In 2011, data from PIT counts will be the definitive national count of homeless Veterans. For more information on what data CoCs should collect and how local Veterans Affairs (VA) and CoC staff can collaborate see Guidance for Counting Veterans. This guidance reviews why PIT counts are important and highlights changes to collecting veteran data in 2011. It also offers specific approaches and strategies for fostering collaborations between CoC and local Veterans Affairs (VA) resources to ensure every homeless veteran is counted. Lastly, the guidance outlines recommended questions for determining if someone is a veteran and provides links to additional resources.