Contiuum of Care

The Point-in-Time Count & Housing Inventory Count

To effectively respond to homelessness, we must understand the size and scope of the problem. To do this, communities are tasked with quantifying the number of people experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness, and identity the characteristics of homeless populations including household size and composition, veteran status, age, race, ethnicity, length of time homeless, and medical and behavioral health information. Collecting this information enables communities to tailor programs and services to meet the needs of their local population and to make the most effective and efficient use of resources.

A mandate of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Point-in-Time (PIT) count is a “census” of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night in the last ten days of January. Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally and represents a collaboration of stakeholders including housing and service providers, neighbors, elected officials, law enforcement, school districts, social services agencies, and persons with lived experience. In the MO-604 CoC, both the sheltered and unsheltered count are conducted annually and represent people experiencing homelessness who are sheltered in Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, and Safe Havens as well as those who are living in unsheltered situations including encampments, abandoned buildings, vehicles, and other places not fit for human habitation. The unsheltered PIT count is conducted by outreach workers and volunteers who canvas the geography of the Continuum of Care to enumerate people found in unsheltered locations.

The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a point-in-time inventory of provider programs within a Continuum of Care that provide beds and units dedicated to serve people experiencing homelessness (and, for permanent housing projects, persons who were experiencing homelessness at program entry, per the HUD homeless definition). Programs captured during the Housing Inventory Count represent five types: Emergency Shelter; Transitional Housing; Rapid Re-housing; Safe Haven; and Permanent Supportive Housing.