Point in Time Count

On Wednesday night, Housing Forward staff and volunteers worked with the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County for the bi-annual Point in Time (PIT) Count, otherwise known as a street count of unsheltered homeless persons. The Count, required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is conducted every other year to assist local agencies with understanding the size, demographics, and needs of the individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the community, tracking the total number of homeless persons, the type of living situation, and subpopulation characteristics.

Volunteers and staff canvassed suburban Cook County from 8pm until 2am as part of this collaborative effort that included coordination among local governmental entities, local advocacy groups, service providers, other essential partners, and countless volunteers and staff. The report with data from the PIT count will be shared when it is available. 

The count will allow us the ability to:

• gain person-specific information for prioritizing individuals for housing placements
• establish a baseline for our homeless population and to track our progress toward ending homelessness
• increase public awareness of homelessness throughout Cook County
• improve our ability to plan and implement efficient and effective services for the homeless
• preserve our current federal funding for homeless services in suburban Cook County and enhance our ability to raise new funds in the future

Thank you to all that participated as volunteers.