Tuesday night, volunteers in Bangor will set out to count everyone who is homeless, but they’ll almost certainly miss a few people.
During the count, volunteers go where people who are homeless are staying, such as emergency shelters and encampments, and ask them questions to gather information on the region’s homeless population.
It’s called the Point in Time count, and it’s required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take place on a single night every January.
But the method of counting people in one night in Maine in January is “inherently flawed” and will result in some people not getting counted, Scott Thistle, MaineHousing spokesperson, said. This matters because information gathered during the count informs how much funding a state gets for programs and services aimed at helping people in need.
“We know people will be missed on the Point in Time count because of the nature of Maine,” Thistle said. “We do it to the best of our ability because it’s a system that’s required, but we’d be mistaken if we’d think everyone will be counted. It’s just not realistic.”
This year, the count lasts from sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 23, to sunrise the following day. Volunteers can also count people Jan. 24 through Jan. 26, though any information gathered will be based on where the person slept on Jan. 23, according to April Reed, an application specialist for the Maine Homeless Management Information System.
The count is conducted in January because people who would normally live outside in a tent or rudimentary shelter are more likely to stay in an emergency shelter or warming center, making them easier for volunteers to find, Reed said.
Volunteers interview every homeless person they find and ask them a series of questions, including how long the person has been homeless and whether they have any physical or mental disabilities.
That information gives organizations an idea of what services or programs homeless people in the community need most and track how an area’s homeless population changes from year-to-year.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development also compiles data on homelessness from every state into an annual Homeless Assessment Report that’s submitted to the U.S. Congress.
The annual count, however, doesn’t capture people who are couch surfing, living in substandard housing, staying in a hotel or motel paid for with their own money, and people who are in a treatment center, hospital or jail, Reed said.
Other factors like the weather on the night of the Point in Time count or the number of volunteers conducting the count can alter how accurate it is.
Another flaw with the Point in Time system, Thistle said, is he feels the method of counting people in this way tends to dehumanize them.
“It’s a count, but you don’t want it to be treated like the score of a football game,” Thistle said. “Those are people — every one of those numbers is a human being.”
Though the count is imperfect, Thistle said the system is being improved each year. For example, last year volunteers completed and submitted surveys using an app, which avoids duplicating data.
Each Maine service hub is also compiling a list of people by name who are homeless in that area. The list includes specific information on a person including how they became homeless and a timeline of what has been offered to help them.
The list tracks people “to resolution,” meaning outreach workers will know if someone moved into permanent housing, Thistle said.
A by-name list allows someone to know how many people are homeless on any given day rather than only having the Point in Time count data that shows how many people were homeless on one night.
“The Point in Time count is a snapshot and, as we move toward more quality data through a by-name list, it’s what we’re obligated to do,” Thistle said.