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Simcoe County will participate in nationally coordinated Point-in-Time Homeless County

October 10, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Simcoe County will once again be participating in a nationally coordinated Point-in-Time (PiT) Homeless Count in October 2024.

This fourth annual count is required by Reaching Home, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada, and is supported by community partners across the country.

The County has participated in PiT counts in previous years as part of this project.

Over the count period, trained surveyors will count and survey individuals who are staying in shelters, short-term emergency housing, and sleeping rough (without shelter). The PiT count will provide a snapshot of homelessness in Simcoe County.

It will indicate the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in the community.

Other forms of homelessness, such as people staying temporarily with friends or family are not typically included in a PiT count.

The PiT count will improve the region’s understanding of the needs and circumstances of the people who are affected by homelessness in the community. The survey will provide the County with key data on gender, age, ethnicity, veteran status, length of time experience and other factors.

Results from the PiT count will be publicly available and will be used in combination with the regional Coordinated Access system’s By-Name Date to improve the County’s response to homelessness.

In the future, successive counts will allow the County to measure progress toward its ultimate goal of ending homelessness in Simcoe County.

The Simcoe County PiT count has received support from Reaching Home and the

Government of Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.

In October and November 2024, individuals experiencing homelessness will be counted in over 60 communities across the country.

The coordinated effort will help to create a picture of homelessness in communities across the country.

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