Montebello Block Watch

2009 Homeless Street Count

Your participation is essential

December 2, 2008


Dear Homeless Providers and Advocates:

The 2009 Homeless Street Count will be conducted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009. This HUD mandated point-in-time survey of homeless individuals will provide valuable data regarding the number and characteristics of people living on the streets in Maricopa County. This count is critical in assisting us to acquire funding for the valley, justify the need for additional housing and services, confirm the widespread nature of homelessness, and develop strategies to end homelessness throughout the valley.

For the last four years, with your help, we were able to implement a statistically valid methodology to count homeless persons living on the streets of Phoenix. As a result, the city of Phoenix homeless street count has been viewed as a “best practice” nationwide. We have spoken about our methodology in several national forums and it is being used as a model in localities across the country. It was with the hard work and dedication of many local organizations and community leaders this was made possible, and we are asking once again for your participation to duplicate the success of the previous years’ counts.

This year we will be implementing improvements based on feedback provided following last year’s count. We are recruiting even more volunteer counters, including representatives from faith-based, private sector and community groups. This will allow for smaller geographic assignments for all teams and for the more experienced teams to focus on expected high-density areas on the night of the count.

Training:

1. The 2009 City of Phoenix Homeless Street Count training session will be conducted Tuesday, January 13th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Bethany Bible Church, Activity Center located at 6060 North Seventh Avenue, Phoenix. This training session is mandatory for at least one coordinating representative from your organization if you wish to participate in the actual count on January 27th. This session will be a train-the-trainer format. Those attending will be responsible for assuring the materials covered are presented to all participating members of your organization.

2. Assignment of geographic locations will be conducted on January 13th. Maps displaying geographic locations to be included in the count will be on display 30 minutes prior to the start of the training session for those who would like to review the geographic location assignments to be counted. We will attempt to honor requested assignments. With this in mind, however, we ask once again for your flexibility and understanding, as we may not be able to accommodate everyone’s preferred choices.

3. For this reason, we ask that you please let us know ahead of time (when you RSVP for training), if your organization will be participating. Please make sure your representatives can confirm the number of people and teams your organization can provide for the night of the count during the training on January 13th.

Count:

1. We will all be meeting at 7:00 p.m. on the evening of the count, January 27th to ensure all assignments and questions are covered. Attendance is mandatory for all teams to assure all areas are covered and a valid count is obtained.

2. On the night of the count, we will offer a review session of counting procedures and tips from 6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. For additional counting and safety tips, we recommend attendance for those who:
o Were unable to attend the January 13th training, or
o A first-time participant, or
o Not experienced in nighttime homeless outreach, or
o Would like a review of procedures or tips
Debriefing:

1. Debriefing will be held the day after the street count to ensure the best possible level of feedback and facilitate the submission of survey forms. It is critical a representative from your organization submit the survey forms at this meeting. We will provide refreshments as our way of saying thank you for the hard work and dedication you provided to make the count a success. This debriefing will be held at the Travis L. Williams Family Services Center located at 4732 S. Central Ave.

Please plan to attend this very important training. Your participation is essential in making this year’s homeless street count the most accurate and comprehensive count yet. Please RSVP faxing the enclosed form to (602) 534-2092 by Friday, December 19, 2008 if you plan to attend the training on January 13, 2009.

Sincerely,

Tim Cole

Tim Cole
Administrative Assistant II
City of Phoenix
Human Services Department
200 W. Washington, 17th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Phone: (602) 262-4520
tim.cole@phoenix.gov

Email us
tim.cole@phoenix.gov