Where it counts

By Jamie Swinnerton
Tompkins Weekly

 

In order to understand a problem, to be able to measure any possible progress, first there must be data. With a complicated and multi-layered problem like homelessness at least some of that data comes from what is often referred to as point-in-time studies; snapshots of the extent and makeup of the homeless population here in Tompkins County. As part of a federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandate, the Tompkins County Homeless and Housing Task Force prepares a point-in-time (PIT) study annually to update the federal office, and local organizations, on the approximate number of people in the county experiencing homelessness.

The study always takes place in January and this year it was conducted over a 12-hour period starting 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, into the morning of Jan. 23. The Task Force is the educational arm of the Continuum of Care (CoC) System led by the Human Services Coalition. According to the Human services Coalition website, CoC is “a local network of public, private, and non-profit agencies working collaboratively to end homelessness in Tompkins County.”

To do the PIT study the CoC committee works with local organizations and agencies who already have access and relationships to the local homeless population. The PIT includes a count of homeless persons living in emergency shelter, transitional housing, or who are, at the time of the survey, unsheltered. While the PIT is required by HUD for communities receiving federal funding through the CoC, it also offers local agencies a better understanding of where there might be gaps in local services, and what is working.

Although the count happened in January the data was presented to the task force on Wednesday, April 4 by CoC coordinator Tierra Labrada. Some of the local organizations represented at the meeting include Catholic Charities, Tompkins Community Action, the Advocacy Center, Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, Department of Social Services, Tompkins County Youth Services, the Ithaca Police Department, Loaves and Fishes, and Planned Parenthood. All have some role to play in addressing the local homeless crisis.

Housing services and shelters, on the night of Jan. 22, conducted a survey of those in their care, while trained volunteers and law enforcement agencies went out to find those living literally without shelter, to learn more about their history of homelessness, and if they are part of a special population. The data would classify participants into three categories: literally homeless, living in a place not meant for human habitation (car, abandoned building, etc.); imminently homeless, eviction or loss of housing in 14 days or less; and unstably housed (couch surfing), which means the participant had made two or more moves in less than 60 days.

This year’s PIT study found a dramatic increase in unsheltered people. In 2017 the number was 20, this year the number was 46. In 2016 the number of unsheltered counted in the study was at 30. Numbers also increased this year compared to last year for both the imminently homeless and the unstably housed. Last year both were at zero, this year both are at 4.

 

At the April 4 meeting of the task force members speculated that the increase in unsheltered people might be due to people migrating to the area due to job opportunities and resources that other counties may not have. But, the numbers could have also been influenced by the New York state Cold Weather Policy.

“Whenever the weather is 32 degrees or below with wind-chill, communities are required to shelter anyone who is presenting as homeless or their health could be at risk due to the cold weather,” Labrada explained to those gathered at the April meeting. “So, we place people in emergency shelter or in motels if they come in under the cold weather policy, whether or not they’ve been approved for shelter by DSS or anything like that.”

Under the cold weather policy, the count numbers could have been very different, Labrada said, pushing the sheltered numbers up on colder nights, and the unsheltered numbers down.

“This year it was warm,” Labrada said. “That means that people who potentially would have been in shelters or in motels were sleeping outside.”

The increase in the imminently homeless and unstably housed was chalked up to better service provider participation compared to last year.

The shelter count part of the study found 20 people at the Rescue Mission and three at the Advocacy Center, both down from last year’s count that found 22 people at the Mission and 9 at the Center. The Emergency Shelter household composition found 13 persons in families with children, compared to 12 last year, and 18 individuals, compared to 19 last year. This year, like the last two years, the count did not have any unaccompanied youth under the age of 18.

The Learning Web, Tompkins Community Action, and Catholic Charities were all included in the Transitional Housing part of the county. The Learning Web had nine people this year, compared to 13 last year. The decrease, according to the presentation from Labrada, was due to tenants in transition during the time of the count. TCAction had zero people this year compared to five people last year because its transitional housing program has been phased out. Catholic Charities stayed consistent at four people this year and last year, its first year with a transitional housing program. The Household Composition in transitional housing included two persons in families, 11 individuals, and zero unaccompanied youth.

The data submitted to HUD from the PIT does not include the imminently homeless, Labrada said. In total, the numbers submitted to HUD total 95 people who were unsheltered, sheltered, or in transitional housing. This is up from 73 people last year. Including the imminently homeless, the number goes up to 104, compared to only 75 last year.

Questions on the survey were intended to find special populations, both self-identified and identified through volunteer knowledge: homeless youth, veterans, domestic violence victims, the chronically homeless, and the mentally ill, to name a few. HUD counts youth in different categories: under 18 years old (includes children in families) and 18 to 24 years old. Anyone over 24 is considered an adult. This year’s PIT counted three youth under 18 (down from six last year), 17 people in the 18 to 24 range (down from 22 last year), and 75 over 24 years old (up from 45 last year). According to the presentation, the low number of homeless youth under 18 reflects a decrease in the number of homeless families.

“That means our homeless families are getting the services that they need,” Labrada said.

Among the other special populations that were counted in shelters, the highest number this year was of people with mental health issues or physical disabilities at 13, up from eight last year. For the unsheltered population, that group climbed to 34, up from seven last year. According to the presentation, both of these increases were a reflection of normal fluctuations given the increase in the sheltered population.

The number of veterans counted in the PIT also increased. Sheltered numbers had three veterans, compared to last year’s one, and unsheltered numbers had five, compared to last year’s zero. Anyone who indicated that they had ever served in the armed forces was counted as a veteran in the PIT. Veterans with certain discharges, including dishonorable discharges, do not receive care from Veteran’s Services. It must be noted that special populations can, and do, overlap. Those counted in the chronic substance abuse population might also be counted in the veteran population, or the mental health and physical disability population.
The PIT is an imperfect system for many reasons, as many studies covering long-term issues like homelessness are. One of the obvious issues is that a survey done on one night of the year isn’t going to accurately represent the ongoing situations of many area residents experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness.
“People might have a couch to sleep on Monday night, and then not have a couch to sleep on the rest of the month,” Labrada said to the gathered task force members last week.

Many of the people the study is looking to count simply don’t want to be counted and don’t want to share their information on a survey. Distrust of government agencies means some answers are left blank and some of the homeless population, and their unique situations, are not taken into account in the data.

But, beyond data gathering, the count does have some positives. Donations are gathered to create care packages with supplies that those experiencing homelessness might need that volunteers going out to do the count can give to participants they meet. Many of the volunteers already have relationships with the people they are surveying, and this gives them another chance to check-in and build on those relationships.

Funding from HUD can be disseminated in several different ways and through the CoC is only one of them. The CoC Program Competition, also known as the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), is how some organizations in the CoC receive some funding. For 2017, the CoC received its full annual renewal: TCAction Amici House (a program for youth scheduled to open next year) received $92,699, TCAction Chartwell House (a housing development for homeless men) received $41,835, TCAction Magnolia House (a housing development for homeless women with or without children) received $40, 626, and Lakeview Health Services single room occupancies received $33,980.