Point-In-Time

ABOUT THE EVENT

HOPES Center of Racine, one of the member agencies of the CoC, facilitates street outreach year-round on the 4th Wednesday of every month. However, on the fourth Wednesday of January and July each year, homeless service providers and volunteers join forces and “take to the streets” to find persons experiencing homelessness in Racine County and offer them shelter and other services. For a few days after, we visit various locations in the community in search of individuals who we may not have located on the night of Point in Time (PIT).

THE PURPOSE OF POINT IN TIME STREET OUTREACH

The primary goal of the Point-In-Time Street Outreach event is to identify anyone without shelter and help them identify shelter options and other services available in the community. The secondary goal is to obtain demographic information that helps us make decisions about gaps in services and the needs of those experiencing homelessness. It is also a requirement attached to funding for homeless and homeless prevention assistance that is received in Racine County. These funds originate with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and are administered directly by HUD, the State of Wisconsin, or the City of Racine.

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE FIND SOMEONE WHO IS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS?

  • Determine if there are any immediate medical, safety, or food needs and address those needs
  • Take the individual to shelter,
  • Assist the individual in contacting family and friends if requested
  • Provide information about community services and provide direct referrals
  • Conduct a brief interview to find out more about the individual’s situation and obtain demographic information

WHEN IS POINT-IN-TIME?

Resuming PIT Work Group Activity

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Work Group will begin meeting again to plan for the January 2024 Point-in-Time Count. We expect the night-of-count to occur on Wednesday, January 24th, 2024, but we will confirm this date after consultation with the other Wisconsin COCs. We will also be waiting for any new communications from HUD concerning PIT and preparing to integrate any changes in data standards into our PIT process.

Purpose of the PIT Work Group

The Point-in-Time Work Group falls under the Continuum of Care for the City & County of Racine’s (CoC) HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) Committee. The work group oversees the preparation, implementation, and reporting of Point-in-Time counts. The point-in-time count is an annual count of the number of people experiencing homelessness according to the definition provided in the HEARTH (Homeless Emergency Assistance for Rapid Transition to Housing) Act of 2009. The objective of the PIT Work Group is to organize and implement PIT in a manner that will result in the most accurate estimate possible of the number of people experiencing homelessness in the City and County of Racine on the night-of-count. Our PIT count for Racine becomes a component of the count for Wisconsin and the United States.

Meeting Venue and Zoom Link

The PIT Work Group will continue having hybrid meetings with Zoom and in-person attendance. In-person attendance is encouraged whenever possible.

  • Venue: The Venue will be HOPES Center of Racine, Conference Room, 521 Sixth Street, Racine (Sixth and Villa). The front door is blue and is right across the street from Indian Motorcycles. Parking on Villa St. between 7th and 8th Streets is free (no meters) and is just a short walk.
  • Zoom Link: All PIT Work Group meetings for the 2024 PIT Count will use the same Zoom link - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82480649593?pwd=FbtGVTyZIBur5lPewdO9acQ3X7GdpY.1 (for full invite with phone-in options, see below).

Meeting Schedule

The PIT Work Group Meetings will be held on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Updates will be posted on our webpage calendar.

  • Tues. October 17, 2023
  • Tues. November 28, 2023
  • Tues. December 19, 2023
  • Tues. January 9, 2024
  • Wed. January 24, 2024 (Night-of-Count)
  • Some Tuesday in February Follow-up Meeting (date to be announced)

Any other PIT-related meetings, orientations, or changes of dates will be announced as they are known and updated on our website: www.racinecoc.org.   

Attendance

Any agency that receives funding from the HUD/COC or ESG is required to participate in the planning and implementation of Point-in-Time, but we encourage all agencies to take part in this important activity regardless of funding source. An invitation was sent to those on the list for the last point-in-time workgroup meeting held in February 2023, with minor changes. If you know someone in your agency or elsewhere who would like to attend or should attend, please forward this information to them. Attendance is open to anyone who wants to participate in planning and organizing our PIT count.

 

[Page updated: 01/16/2024]