City of Asheville’s annual Point in Time (PIT) surveys unhoused population

Press release from the City of Asheville:

Each year, the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care (CoC), in collaboration with a number of local organizations, elected officials, and community volunteers, conducts the annual Point in Time (PIT) count. The PIT count is a federal requirement for all CoCs to conduct during the last 10 days of January and aggregated, identified data are reported to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to inform federal strategy and resources.  The count is similar to a one-night census and provides a basic overview of the scale and composition of the homeless population. This data, while an incomplete picture of everyone experiencing homelessness in our community, can serve as a valuable tool for understanding needs and developing strategies to add housing and service options that may be missing.

This year’s count will take place on the evening of January 28th and during the day on January 29th.  Volunteers composed of service provider staff, community members, and City and County staff and elected officials will canvas predetermined areas across Buncombe County, collecting survey data from people experiencing homelessness.

WHAT: PIT Count Broll and Intv opportunity

WHEN: January 28, 2025 – 3:30 media arrival

WHERE: Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall (87 Haywood Street)

Media Details:

• Media is asked to gather at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall at 3:30 pm
• Media will be given access to some of the 50+ volunteers as they arrive, are briefed as to how to carry out the count, receive their survey packets, and head out for canvassing (depart 4:00 pm)
• Continuum of Care Lead Agency staff (Emily Ball, Debbie Alford, Charles Young, and Sydney Monshaw) will remain on-site at Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall for interviews / to answer media questions after volunteers depart

• We ask media members to respect the dignity and privacy of the community’s most vulnerable residents as this essential, yet personal, information is gathered. As such, the City of Asheville will not be facilitating opportunities for media to travel with the volunteer canvas crews.

RSVP: If you or a member of your organization would like to cover the event, please contact City of Asheville Communications Specialist Kim Miller. We ask you to do this so we can help address your needs as much as possible.

Point In Time Background:

The annual Point-in-Time count tracks the demographics, causes, and population of people experiencing homelessness in Buncombe County. As the count reflects only a single night it is not an accurate picture of the entire population of people experiencing homelessness. Still, it is currently the most comprehensive annual dataset available.

Following federal requirements, the count will include individuals and families who are unsheltered (on the street, camping, staying in a car) as well as people in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs.   Federal guidelines also include people staying in hotels or motels funded by an agency (e.g. FEMA) and people who are unsheltered regardless of who the property owner is (e.g. people camping on property they own), so this year’s count will also include people currently without housing due to Tropical Storm Helene.

Data will be compiled, deduplicated, and aggregated by the CoC Lead Agency Staff and reported out to the Continuum of Care and the wider community in early spring.