What is the Point In Time Count?

The Point In Time (PIT) Count is an annual count that is required by HUD. This count is meant to provide a snapshot of how many individuals are currently experiencing homelessness within a given community.

Is the Point In Time Count Statewide?

Yes; the Point In Time Count is actually a Nationwide count.

However, the State of Hawai‘i has two distinct Continuum’s of Care (CoC): Partners in Care for O‘ahu and Bridging the Gap for the neighboring islands. Each CoC conducts a separate Point In Time Count for their designated area.

What does Unsheltered Homeless Mean?

Unsheltered Homeless are individuals sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, including streets, parks, alleys, parts of the highway system, transportation depots, all night commercial establishments (e.g., movie theaters, laundromats, restaurants), abandoned buildings, building roofs or stairwells, caves, campgrounds, vehicles, and other similar places. Find more definitions here.

What does Sheltered Homeless Mean?

Sheltered Homeless are individuals who, on the night of the count, are living in homeless shelters, including Emergency Shelters, Domestic Violence shelters, Safe Havens, or Transitional Housing. Find more definitions here.

How do you Count?

Unsheltered homeless are counted by doing a canvass of the island asking individuals a survey that covers demographic information among questions about their personal history.

Sheltered homeless are counted by pulling information from our county-wide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) that stores enrollment and demographic data for homeless individuals staying at transitional or emergency shelters. Sheltered individuals are not given the same surveys as unsheltered individuals because most of the survey data can be pulled from enrollment data that has been entered in by service providers prior to the night of the count.

Are the numbers (Reports) reliable?

Hundreds of hours are spent collecting, inputting, and validating this data. However, Point In Time Count numbers are submitted or collected by hundreds of different community members, service providers, and individuals currently experiencing homelessness. The reliability of each count can be influenced by many factors, such as number of volunteers, understanding of training, and weather. Additionally, most of the data is self-reported directly from individuals experiencing homelessness. These numbers should be looked at to understand trends over time instead of taken as exact figures.

Does Partners In Care share this data with Law Enforcement or the Government in order to organize sweeps?

No. All data is shared only in aggregate form and is distributed equally to all community members. Partners In Care does not share specific personal or location information on individuals.

Is it ethical to "count" the homeless?

The PIT count is a federal requirement, and it is implemented with training and compassion. We count people experiencing homelessness so we can better understand the causes of their homelessness in order to develop better interventions and to connect them to service providers. We count individuals experiencing homelessness because we do not want them to become invisible.

Do most individuals experiencing homelessness come from the Mainland?

No. According to the 2019 PIT Count report most individuals experiencing homelessness on O‘ahu are Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, or multiracial. This finding suggests that homelessness on O‘ahu disproportionately affects Hawai‘i residents.

Are most Homeless individuals experiencing mental illness or substance use issues?

No. According to the 2019 PIT Count report only 24% of the total homeless individuals were experiencing serious mental health issues. This percentage is close to estimates of mental illness in the general population. Twenty percent of the total American population experiences mental health issues (NAMI, 2017).

Why haven't we seen a bigger decline in Homelessness?

Many major cities with similarly tight housing markets and rising income inequality are also experiencing this increasing trend. Until systemic change that directly reduces the poverty is achieved, homelessness is likely to continue to rise. However, O‘ahu data suggests that service providers and local government are housing the most vulnerable at higher rates than in previous years. For example, the amount of chronically homeless, mentally ill, and substance users being placed into emergency, transitional, and permanent housing has increased. We recommend a continuation of the current course in homeless intervention, along with a more aggressive approach to increasing the availability of affordable housing for everyday Hawai‘i citizens.