HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 State of Hawaii Homeless Persons Point-In-Time County ReportStatewide Homeless Point -in -Time Count
Methodology and Results 2011
Prepared By:
The State of Hawaii,
Department of Human Services, Homeless Programs Branch
The City & County of Honolulu,
Department of Community Services
May 2011
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ................................. ...............................
Background and Project Overview ......... ...............................
Statewide Unsheltered Homeless Counts ..............................
Regional Changes in Unsheltered Homelessness ...................
Chronically Homeless Counts ................. ...............................
Sheltered Homeless Counts ................... ...............................
Change in Total Statewide Homelessness from 2010 to 2011
Recommendations for Future PIT Counts ..............................
Appendix 1: 2011 PIT Count Household Survey ...........................
Appendix 2: 2011 PIT Count Single Survey ... ...............................
Appendix 3: 2011 Unsheltered PIT Count Materials to Surveyors
Appendix 4: Statement of Confidentiality .... ...............................
...... 3 -4
...... 5 -7
.... 8 -10
....... 10
..10-12
..12-13
....... 13
..14-15
16 -17
18 -19
.... 20
21 -22
2
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the agencies and individuals who contributed their time, expertise, gifts for persons experiencing
homelessness, and other resources to conduct the 2011 Homeless Point -in -Time Count. The City & County of
Honolulu and the Department of Human Services would like to recognize the following persons, organizations, and
public and private agencies for participating in this project:
Partners in Care Point in Time Planning Members
• Gabriel Naeole — City & County of Honolulu, Department of Community Services
• Sandi Miyoshi — State of Hawaii, Department of Human Services, Homeless Programs Office
• Tien Lum — Hybrid International, LLC
• Carlos Peraro — C. Peraro Consulting, LLC
• Darlene Hein — Waikiki Health Center
Partners in Care is a coalition of representatives on Oahu including service providers, state and local government,
community groups, and homeless and formerly homeless individuals that is providing a comprehensive
collaborative response to the diverse needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Bridging the Gap Point in Time Planning Members
• Patrick Hurney, Chair — Community Alliance Partners (Big Island CoC)
• Jeremy McComber— Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development
• Debra DeLuis, Chair— I<auai Community Alliance ( I<auai CoC)
• JoAnn Shimamoto — I<auai Housing Agency
• Maude Cumming, Chair— Maui Homeless Alliance
• Lori Tsuhako — Maui County Department of Housing and Human Concerns
Thank you to the numerous individuals and agencies donating gifts for persons and families experiencing
homelessness that were distributed during the Point -in -Time Count and to the many volunteers that helped
coordinate and carry out the interviews and count.
Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance
Coordinators: Doran Porter, Catherine Datuin, Paul Ruddell
Family Life Center
Coordinator: Maude Cumming
Hale Kipa, Inc.
Coordinator: Alika Campbell
IHS, the Institute for Human Services, Inc.
Coordinator: Connie Mitchell
Kalihi - Palama Health Center
Coordinator: Aaron Whyne
Kauai Economic Opportunity
Coordinator: Stephanie Fernandes
Maui Economic Concerns of the Community
Coordinator: Mike Davis
Office for Social Ministry
Coordinators: Carol Ignacio & Brandee Menino
Salvation Army, Maui
Coordinators: Captains Kathy and Mark Merritt
United States Veterans Initiative
Coordinator: Marko Johnson and Trish Bratton
Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
Coordinator: Theresa Gonsalves
Waianae Community Outreach
Coordinators: Tulu Toa and Sophina Placencia
Waikiki Health Center
Coordinators: Darlene Hein, Paul Oshiro, and Savina Steimlosk
Feed My Sheep
Gregory House Programs
Hawaii Helping the Hungry Have Hope
Hawaii Pacific University — School of Nursing
Helping Hands Hawaii
Steadfast Housing Development Corporation
University of Hawaii — School of Nursing
Veterans Administration — Homeless Programs
4
Background and Project Overview
The annual Continuum of Care (CoQ Application for McKinney -Vento homeless assistance funding requires CoCs to
produce "statistically reliable, unduplicated counts or estimates of homeless persons in sheltered and unsheltered
locations on a one -day point in time ". The rural counties sheltered count was conducted on the night of January
25, 2011. The unsheltered count was performed from January 26th through the 31St', based on the question,
"Where did you sleep on the night of January 25 ?"
The Sheltered Point in Time Count (PIT) requires CoCs to report the number of sheltered homeless persons in
seven subpopulation categories. These subpopulation categories include: chronically homeless, severely mentally
ill, chronic substance abusers, veterans, persons with HIV /AIDS, victims of domestic violence, and unaccompanied
youth (under 18 years of age).
Additionally, the unsheltered PIT requires CoCs to report the number of unaccompanied homeless persons who
are chronically homeless. The unsheltered homeless are an extremely important subpopulation of homeless
persons and their characteristics and needs must be accommodated within any strategy to reduce homelessness.
Collecting good baseline data about this subpopulation is essential to understanding the causes of homelessness
and can be used as a basis for comparison in future years. Moreover, continued data collection at regular intervals
is necessary to track progress toward reducing homelessness and to track changes in the demographics of the
unsheltered homeless.
The 2011 Statewide PIT was performed to meet the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development's (HUD) requirement for its CoC Homeless Assistance Programs grant application. The Homeless
Point in Time Count was conducted throughout the nation in the last week of January 2011. The City & County of
Honolulu, Department of Community Services (DCS) and the State of Hawaii, Department of Human Services,
Homeless Programs Office collaborated to develop the methodology for the count and worked diligently with
homeless service providers to plan the logistics and develop the survey instruments in accordance with HUD
guidelines.
Objectives
The objective of this PIT was to obtain accurate statewide information on sheltered and unsheltered homeless
populations on January 25, 2011 in conjunction with:
Obtaining an overall count of homeless individuals and households in specific subpopulations;
Obtaining an estimate of the number of homeless singles and households without children and
homeless households with children;
• Obtaining an estimate of the number of chronically homeless individuals according to HUD's
definition of chronically homeless.'
The 2011 unsheltered PIT made use of the State's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to a greater
extent than did the 2009 and 2010 PIT Counts. The 2011 count improved upon the methodology employed in the
previous year by providing an unsheltered PIT module that allowed users to enter surveys directly into the HMIS.
The HMIS is a statewide database that was established in 2002 for recording homeless client intake, and service
data in an accurate and uniform manner in order to track program outputs and outcomes for reporting and
funding purposes. All homeless service providers receiving funding through the City and County of Honolulu, the
1 HUD's definition of chronic homelessness is: An unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been
continuously homeless for a year or more OR has had at least four (4) episodes of homelessness in the past three (3) years. To be considered
chronically homeless, persons must have been sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation (e.g., living on the streets) and /or in
emergency shelter during that time.
State of Hawaii and /or the Department of Housing and Urban Development are required to participate in the
HMIS. Additionally, some privately funded agencies voluntarily utilize the HMIS. The Violence Against Women Act
of 2005 categorically excludes domestic violence providers from having to participate in the HMIS, however most
of the domestic violence shelters did participate in the count.
Before the 2009 count, HPHA received HUD's permission to deviate from the conventional PIT methodology of a
one -night physical count and to instead conduct a multiple -day physical count for the unsheltered homeless. The
dates of the sheltered and unsheltered counts adhered to HUD's strict policy that the counts must occur during the
last ten days of January. The deviation was permitted based on Hawaii's ability to unduplicate the unsheltered
homeless by using the HMIS. This HMIS methodology was used again for the 2011 count; however, several key
adjustments were made to ensure that data was as clean as possible and that users were able to quickly enter
surveyed unsheltered data.
The unsheltered homeless count was a multifaceted process that made use of survey instruments based on criteria
contained within HUD's Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless. These survey instruments were used by field
staff to document unsheltered responses. The surveys for persons determined to be unsheltered on the night of
January 25, 2011 were entered into the PIT module of the HMIS. With the assistance of Hybrid International, LLC,
the unsheltered single and household surveys were configured to mirror the hardcopy forms. This configuration
made it extremely easy for service providers to enter the unsheltered data they had obtained during the six day
survey period directly into the HMIS. Users could even populate pieces of the PIT survey forms with data from
existing users if they had previously been entered into the HMIS database.
After all unsheltered data had been entered into the HMIS; the aggregate data was exported into Excel. All data
entered into the online surveys became readily available in a tractable format. This data could then be
manipulated to produce the reports that HUD and the CoCs desired. Records containing little or no information,
sheltered homeless, duplicate counts, and refusals were removed from the aggregate data in an effort to obtain an
accurate unsheltered count.
The sheltered homeless count was primarily derived from HMIS client and intake data in the sheltered programs
section for the night of January 25, 2011. Shelters were contacted prior to this date and instructed that all clients
sleeping in their facility on the night of January 25, 2011, needed to be entered into the HMIS. Furthermore,
agencies were advised to make sure that all client and intake data were current. Follow -up with individual service
providers was also conducted to verify that the HMIS listing matched the nightly census. Shelters not participating
in the HMIS (such as domestic violence shelters) were contacted individually to provide the number of homeless
individuals and families residing at their shelters on the night of January 25, 2011, in addition to providing specific
subpopulation data.
Multiple meetings were conducted Statewide prior to the 2011 PIT. Agencies and persons included: the City's
Department of Community Services, the DHS's Homeless Programs Office, PIT Coordinators, interested Partners in
Care members, and rural county continuum members. The purpose of these meetings was to develop and refine
the count's methodology, and to revise survey instrumentation used for the unsheltered counts. The survey
instruments are attached as Appendices 1 and 2.
Point -in -Time Teams
PIT teams were composed of outreach workers from service agencies that regularly perform outreach to
unsheltered individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Agencies were assigned to areas on the islands
where they routinely provide outreach services. The reasoning for these assignments flowed naturally from the
fact that field staff would be most familiar with sites and persons to whom they routinely outreached and would
Z HUD's definition of an unsheltered homeless person is someone residing in a place not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks,
sidewalks, abandoned buildings, or on the street.
have first hand experience in areas frequented by unsheltered homeless populations. Outreach workers would
also have rapport with many of the consumers that they encountered in their existing service areas. Other
agencies and volunteers assisted outreach agencies during the six -day count.
Implementation
The designated outreach agencies demarcated areas within the counties and were assigned according to areas
where they normally conduct outreach services. Each agency then independently scheduled days and times field
staff would visit known sites; balancing safety with timing in an effort to maximize the number of unsheltered
persons counted.
The rural counties implemented a methodology similar to the Oahu unsheltered count. Each of the rural counties
was partitioned into distinct areas that could be distinguished by a numbering scheme. This numbering scheme
delineated the areas and made it possible to amass total homeless individuals by area. This can possibly be
compared to future counts assuming that outreach providers are performing the unsheltered counts with
maximum effort and resources.
While the 2005 and 2007 PIT used a sampling method to survey persons encountered, the 2009, 2010, and 2011
HMIS PIT methodology required that all unsheltered persons identified be asked to complete a survey. This was
needed in order to obtain the name and /or unique identifying description of each person being counted so that
persons could be entered into the HMIS database and unduplicated with confidence. The added work of surveying
each person encountered was one of the primary reasons why the duration of the count was increased to six days.
Another reason was to provide the field staff with more time to reach as many unsheltered persons as possible
who spent the night of January 25, 2011, unsheltered, to be included in the count. It should be noted that all
adults surveyed were asked where they slept on the night of January 25, 2011. Persons indicating that they were
sheltered on the 25th were not included in the final count of unsheltered homeless individuals, even if they spent
just the single night at a friend's or relative's place.
A person's household composition (single or part of a household) was determined by using the survey question
"Are you living alone or with others ? ", and then requesting the number of adults and /or children under 18 in their
household, if applicable. Furthermore, the number of chronically homeless persons (according to HUD's
definition) was determined by analyzing survey responses relative to household composition, duration of
homelessness, and presence of a disabling condition. The chronically homeless number was calculated using data
from unaccompanied homeless persons and families with at least one adult meeting the chronically homeless
definition.
Statewide Unsheltered Homeless Counts
The 2011 Statewide PIT enumeration of unsheltered homeless individuals is shown in Exhibit one. The total
number of unsheltered homeless persons statewide was 2,556 and is a combination of the totals for the Oahu,
Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii areas below. Of this total, 458 persons or 17.9% were part of the 125 households with
children that were identified during the six day unsheltered count. The remaining 2,098 persons were single
individuals or members of households without children. Comparisons of the two years in Exhibit 1 remains
relatively similar for three of the counties, a significant difference appears in the Maui Areas table, which increased
by 64.9% over the one year period. The reason given for the dramatic change was an improved effort among
outreach coordinators. It is extremely important to get the same level of effort across years otherwise numerical
disparities arise as in the case of the Maui areas.
Exhibit 1: Statewide Changes in Unsheltered
Homeless,
2010-2011
2010
Count
2011
Oahu Areas
Count
% of Total
Count
% of Total
1: Downtown Honolulu
394
28.7%
448
33.9%
2: East Honolulu
307
22.3%
235
17.8%
3: Ewa
76
5.5%
70
5.3%
4: Kaneohe to Waimanalo
77
5.6%
96
7.3%
5: Wahiawa to North Shore
96
7.0%
130
9.8%
6: Upper Windward
14
1.0%
47
3.6%
7: Waianae Coast
410
29.8%
296
22.4%
Totals
1,374
100%
1,322
100.0%
Maui Areas
Count
% of Total
Count
% of Total
1: Central Maui
202
50.6%
273
41.5%
2: Lower Waiehu
10
2.5%
130
19.8%
3: Up Country
46
11.5%
43
6.5%
4: Lahaina
44
11.0%
44
6.7%
5: Kihei
94
23.6%
163
24.8%
6: Hana
3
0.8%
5
0.8%
Totals
399
100%
658
100.0%
Kauai Areas
Count
% of Total
Count
% of Total
1: West
68
31.9%
66
27.6%
2: South
2
0.9%
0
0.0%
3: South Central
44
20.7%
60
25.1%
4: East
52
24.4%
56
23.4%
5: North
47
22.1%
57
23.8%
Totals
213
100%
239
100.0%
Hawaii Areas
Count
% of Total
Count
% of Total
1: Puna
61
19.5%
63
18.7%
2: Hilo
105
33.5%
119
35.3%
3: Hamakua
10
3.2%
4
1.2%
4: Kohala
4
1.3%
13
3.9%
5: Kona
108
34.5%
106
31.5%
6: Kau
25
8.0%
32
9.5%
Totals
313
100%
337
100.0%
Exhibit two displays the summary of unsheltered persons in families by region for each of the four counties. Three
of the four counties display similar results while a drastic difference appears in Maui's households with children.
This difference can again be attributed to an improved coordination among Maui's Continuum of Care for the
duration of the count. Overall there was a 438% increase in the number of households with children enumerated
and a 40.9% increase in the number of individuals enumerated on Maui when compared to 2010.
Exhibit 2: Statewide Unsheltered
Oahu Areas
Persons in Families and Individuals by Region, 2011
Households with Children Persons in Families
Individuals
Total
1. Downtown Honolulu
5
25
423
448
2. East Honolulu
2
6
229
235
3. Ewa
3
12
58
70
4. Kaneohe to Waimanalo
9
42
54
96
5. Wahiawa to North Shore
0
0
130
130
6. Upper Windward
2
7
40
47
7. Waianae Coast
23
85
211
296
Total
44
177
1,145
1,322
Maui Areas
Households with Children
Persons in Families
Individuals
Total
1. Central Maui
18
63
210
273
2. Lower Waiehu
14
52
78
130
3. Up Country
4
8
35
43
4.Lahaina
3
10
34
44
5. Kihei
4
12
151
163
6. Hana
0
0
5
5
Total
43
145
513
658
Kauai Areas
Households with Children
Persons in Families
Individuals
Total
1. West
9
32
34
66
2. South
0
0
0
0
3. South Central
4
12
48
60
4. East
5
18
38
56
5. North
1
5
52
57
Total
19
67
172
239
Hawaii Areas
Households with Children
Persons in Families
Individuals
Total
1. Puna
5
23
40
63
2. Hilo
8
24
95
119
3. Hamakua
0
0
4
4
4. Kohala
1
3
10
13
5. Kona
0
0
106
106
6. Kau
5
19
13
32
Total
19
69
268
337
Exhibit three expresses the statewide unsheltered homeless individuals for the 2010 PT count. This table can be
used to compare the aggregate totals from the 2011 unsheltered count. The number of unsheltered homeless
persons counted during the 2010 count was determined based on persons observed during the six -day count who
stated that they were unsheltered on the night of January 25, 2010. All persons included in the count had to have
completed a survey or been present with one person in the household responding to the survey, and have
provided their name and /or unique identifying information (to un- duplicate persons). Additionally, unsheltered
adults were cross corroborated with the sheltered count to make sure that persons were only counted once.
County
Households with Children
Persons in Families
Individuals
Total
Oahu
42
176
1,198
1,374
Maui
8
35
364
399
Kauai
18
63
150
213
Hawaii
21
80
233
313
Total
89
354
1,945
2,299
Persons congregating in places known to have a high concentration of homeless but who indicated that they were
sheltered on January 25th or who refused to participate in the survey were not included in the count. If
unsheltered persons were known to be homeless by outreach workers but refused to participate in the survey,
outreach workers were instructed to complete the survey with names and unique identifying information.
Outreach workers were also aware of persons residing in specific locations in mountains, caves, and bushes but
determined based on experience, that it was unsafe to reach persons in these areas. Since these persons could
not be surveyed, they were not included in the count.
Regional Changes in Unsheltered Homeless
A comparison between the 2010 and 2011 unsheltered PIT is comparable in theory because the two counts were
performed using the same methodology. This doesn't preclude a disparity in numbers reported annually due to
differences in execution. Exhibit four presents the data obtained from the 2010 and 2011 unsheltered counts. As
indicated, three of the four are relatively similar, with Maui being drastically increased.
Exhibit 4: Percent Change
County
in Statewide Unsheltered Homeless
2010 2011
Counts, 2010-2011
% Change 2010 -2011
Oahu
1,374 1,322
-3.8%
Maui
399 658
+64.9%
Kauai
213 239
+12.2%
Hawaii
313 337
+7.7%
Total
2,299 2,556
+11.2%
Chronically Homeless Counts
HUD has determined the definition of chronically homeless to be: An unaccompanied individual with a disabling
condition, who has either been continuously homeless for at least one (1) year OR has had at least four (4)
episodes of homelessness in the past three (3) years. A disabling condition as defined by HUD is a diagnosable
substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental disability, or chronic physical illness or disability,
including the co- occurrence of two or more of these conditions. In addition, a persons must be sleeping in a place
not meant for human habitation (e.g., living on the streets) or in an emergency shelter during the entire period(s)
of homelessness.
In 2011 HUD required CoC's to record the number of chronically homeless families during their sheltered and
unsheltered counts. The definition is almost the same as the above; however, at least one of the adults in the
family with at least one child must be disabled. The length of homelessness criteria remains the same. Chronically
homeless families are presented in Exhibit six.
10
Using survey data to identify unsheltered individuals fitting the above parameters, the number of chronically
homeless individuals statewide is shown in Exhibit five.
Exhibit 5:
Statewide Unsheltered Chronically Homeless Unaccompanied
2010
2011
County
Individuals
Chronic
Percent Chronic
Individuals
Chronic
Percent Chronic
Oahu
1,087
478
44.0%
1,091
481
44.1%
Maui
334
110
32.9%
513
155
30.2%
Kauai
132
59
44.7%
172
58
33.7%
Hawaii
196
58
29.6%
268
99
36.9%
Totals
1,749
705
40.3%
2,044
793
38.8%
Roughly 39% of the 2,044 unsheltered homeless persons identified in the 2011 PIT were determined to be
chronically homeless. The percentage of persons counted that were chronically homeless decreased slightly from
40.3% in 2010. The percent chronic calculation above excludes persons in households with children and couples.
These individuals are excluded from the denominator in the calculation. Several factors could have influenced the
high rate of chronic homelessness:
Field staff was comprised of mostly outreach workers who were assigned to count areas where they normally
perform outreach and provide services. Unsheltered individuals asked to answer survey questions may have
therefore felt more comfortable and /or open to disclosing the existence of a disabling condition to an
outreach worker whom they already know or have seen around than someone who they were not familiar
with.
This year's survey instrument added the option for surveyors to "check box if 1) Client refuses to participate in
survey, AND 2) Interviewer has made visual contact with the client, AND 3) Interviewer is an outreach
worker /provider who has first -hand knowledge that the client is unsheltered on a regular basis, AND 4)
Interviewer will therefore complete the survey on behalf of the client." The intent of adding this option was to
provide outreach workers with permission to complete survey responses for unsheltered individuals who they
encounter on a consistent and ongoing basis but who may refuse or are unable to participate in the survey
due to factors, such as serious mental illness or inebriation.
• The current economic situation throughout the state may have increased the duration and frequency of
homelessness, especially among persons with a disabling condition. Unemployment rates have also increased
throughout the state which could have also lead to increases in the number of homeless or longer durations of
homelessness.
Exhibit 6: Statewide
Unsheltered Chronically Homeless Households
2011 Chronic Households with Children
County
Families
Chronic
Percent Chronic
Oahu
44
12
27.3%
Maui
43
4
9.3%
Kauai
19
5
26.3%
Hawaii
19
5
26.3%
Totals
125
26
20.8%
11
Exhibit six shows the number and percentage of chronically homeless families tallied during the 2011 PIT. The
maximum and minimum rates occur on Oahu and Maui respectively. Nearly 21% of families counted were
chronically homeless using HUD's definition.
Sheltered Homeless Counts
The sheltered' homeless counts were exported from the sheltered section of the HMIS database for the night of
January 25, 2011. Shelters were contacted prior to this date and instructed to make sure that all client and intake
data in the HMIS was correctly entered and up -to -date. Follow -up was also conducted to ensure that the numbers
were accurate for the day of the count.
Shelters not participating in the HMIS (including domestic violence shelters) were contacted individually to provide
all subpopulation data and the total number of homeless individuals and families residing at their shelters on the
night of the January 25, 2011. The results are shown in Exhibit seven. Exhibit seven also displays the results from
the last three years.
Exhibit 7:
County
Statewide Sheltered Homeless Individuals,
Households with Children
00•
Persons in Families
Individuals
2011 Total
Oahu
514
2,058
854
2,912
Maui
77
267
127
394
Kauai
22
78
19
97
Hawaii
37
152
77
229
Total
650
2,555
1,077
3,632
County
Households with Children
Persons in Families
Individuals
2010 Total
Oahu
527
2,041
756
2,797
Maui
80
283
109
392
Kauai
13
44
16
60
Hawaii
55
223
63
286
Total
675
2,591
944
3,535
County
Households with Children
Persons in Families
Individuals
2009 Total
Oahu
447
1,673
772
2,445
Maui
98
306
116
422
Kauai
20
67
13
80
Hawaii
56
213
108
321
Total
621
2,259
1,009
3,268
There were 3,632 sheltered homeless individuals enumerated in the 2011 PIT. Of this number 2,555 persons were
part of the 650 households with children identified and 1,077 were homeless individuals. Oahu had the majority of
the sheltered homeless individuals and accounted for roughly 80% of the State's sheltered population. As in
previous counts, there was a much higher percentage of sheltered persons who were part of households with
children when compared to the overall sheltered population. In general, there are much fewer shelter beds
available to single individuals and persons in households without children.
3 HUD's definition of a sheltered homeless person is someone residing in an emergency shelter or transitional housing for homeless persons
who originally came from the streets or emergency shelters.
12
Exhibit eight illustrates the chronic homeless rates for unaccompanied individuals during the 2011 PIT. The
denominators for these calculations are taken to be unaccompanied individuals in emergency shelters for the rural
counties and emergency shelters and the safe haven for Oahu. A table for sheltered chronically homeless families
was not included due to the fact that there was one family on Oahu and four in the rural counties.
Exhibit 8:
County
Statewide Sheltered Chronically Homeless
Unaccompanied Individuals
Unaccompanied
Chronic Homeless Persons
Percent Chronic
Oahu
389
75
19.3%
Maui
70
15
21.4%
Kauai
12
4
33.3%
Hawaii
37
17
45.9%
Total
508
111
21.9%
Exhibit nine itemizes the number of homeless veterans counted during the 2011 PIT. HUD requires that data on
homeless Vets be included in the one day count.
Oahu
Maui
Hawaii
Kauai
Total
Unsheltered Homeless Vets 147
71
53
24
295
Sheltered Homeless Vets 185
10
14
1
210
Total 332
81
67
25
505
Change in Total Statewide Homelessness from 2010 to 2011
The results of the total statewide 2011 PIT count are shown in Exhibit ten. The data indicates that there was a
6.1% increase in total homelessness. The statewide number of sheltered homeless increased 2.7% reflecting
increased shelter utilization. It should be noted that some shelters are still not at full capacity. The number of
unsheltered homeless increased 11.2% which is mainly reflected in the rural county unsheltered increases.
2010
2011
Numerical Change
Percent Change
Unsheltered Homeless 2,299
2,556
+257
+11.2%
Sheltered Homeless 3,535
3,632
+97
+2.7%
Total 5,834
6,188
+354
+6.1%
Recommendations for Future PIT Counts
The methodology used in the 2011 Point -in -Time Count was effective for establishing accurate data for the
sheltered homeless count; however, there is always room to improve. Improvements can be made to ensure that
the most current agency contact information is available to communicate instructions and deadlines for exiting
clients and updating the shelter data in the HMIS. Providing the agencies with a designated point -of- contact for
questions and troubleshooting can also streamline the shelter count process. An area that could be improved is
the ability of some providers to maintain HMIS intake records that match the actual census listing. Some providers
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are still having trouble making sure that all of their clients are in the HMIS client and intake data by the set
deadline. This delays the sheltered analysis. Another area for improvement appears to be the length of
homelessness and disability information extracted from the HMIS. This information is often entered at intake and
not updated by staff as disabling and length of homeless information becomes clearer. This affects the emergency
shelter chronically homeless number, which many agree is underreported. Training may need to be provided on
this issue.
When analyzing the unsheltered data, several things became apparent. Before entering the unsheltered surveys
that have been accumulated during the count, agencies may want to cross reference the surveys with their
sheltered HMIS listings in an effort to unduplicate clients. There were a number of individuals and families that
were weeded out of the unsheltered count because they appeared in both the sheltered and unsheltered data.
Agencies should also make sure that surveys containing sheltered responses for the "where did you sleep on the
night of the 25th" question are not entered into the PIT module of the HMIS. The data was much better this year
than in prior years. For surveys with no first name and gender, the description should contain information as to
whether or not the person was male or female. Some descriptions lacked information pertaining to the gender
categorization and had to be marked as unknown.
Family and couple "other adult in household" length of homelessness questions in the exported data are set to
unknown. The CoC may want to consider adding this question to the other adult in household. This information
has been taken to be the same as the head of household and becomes important when tallying the chronically
homeless families figure. Question number eight of the single survey was not included in the household survey.
Chronic family data assumed this was true when calculating the overall chronic homeless number.
Of extreme importance are the exact locations of the interview and the exact locations of where the client slept on
the night of the count. This year's count did a good job of getting distinct versus generic interview site responses;
however, the location of where the homeless persons slept was general in nature. Many times respondents
reported sleeping in a car, tent, at the beach, on the streets, etc. This information becomes a key piece in the
analysis because one can pinpoint the exact location of the chronically homeless on that specific night if that data
is available. Surveyors did an excellent job of reporting the area ID (1 -7) on the night of the 25th, but it would be
great to have more precise locations. This information could be used in a number of cross tabulations that
outreach teams could use in the future to locate veterans, chronically homeless, families, unaccompanied youth,
etc.
Point -in -Time Count Execution
PIT Count Coordinators improved on the execution of the count from the previous year. Since effective
coordination is imperative when carrying out an unsheltered PIT Count, it is important that enough regional
coordinators are assigned to oversee specific areas and that they are aware of their roles and responsibilities to
organize the field staff in their areas, provide training on completing the surveys, and to monitor coverage of sites
that unsheltered persons are known to congregate. Continued efforts will be made to increase site coverage,
especially in the rural areas and to places that serve no -cost meals. In addition, screening surveys that were done
on the first day of the count can provide recommendations for improvement that can be implemented during the
remaining days of the count. This would assist in increasing the number of surveys providing responses to all or as
many questions as possible in order to extract enough data to be included in the count.
According to survey coordinators and outreach workers, the overall coordination and execution of the count
improved from 2010 to 2011. This year's count made greater efforts to cover places that unsheltered persons are
known to congregate, including increasing coverage to places that serve no -cost meals, which may have
contributed to more unsheltered persons counted. The implementation of a coordinated "Super Tuesday" count
along with continuing the count for the rest of the week provided field staff with more opportunities to encounter
unsheltered persons and to revisit sites that are known to be inhabited but may have been sparsely occupied
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during initial visits. Additionally, the survey instruments were improved and shortened from the previous year,
which made it easier for field staff to ask and receive survey responses.
The data in this report reflects a point -in -time estimate of persons experiencing homelessness encountered during
a designated six -day period of time.
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Appendix 1: 2011 PIT Count Household Survey
Interviewer's Name:
Site of Interview:
USE THIS FORM IF THE CLIENT IS PART OFA HOUSEHOLD
(Household is defined as having a child under 18)
2011 City & County of Honolulu Homeless Point -in -Time Count Survey
Agency /Group:
Date:
Read Introduction: "Hello, my name is , and I am an outreach worker /volunteer. We are doing a short survey
for an annual homeless count, and your responses will help fund homeless services throughout Hawaii. All of your
answers will be confidential. Can I ask you a few questions ?"
"Are you living alone or with others?"
To determine whether to use SINGLE or PART OF HOUSEHOLD form
"Where did you sleep this past TUESDAY, JANUARY 25?"
If answer is House or Public Shelter, then THANK and END SURVEY.
"What area of the island did you sleep ?"
Area or Region # (1 — 7) [Map in back]
1. Including yourself, how many ADULTS are in your household?
2. How many CHILDREN UNDER 18 are in your household?
3. How long have you been continuously homeless this time? ❑ Less than 1 year ❑ 1 year or longer*
4. How many times have you been homeless in the past 3 years? ❑ 1 — 3 times ❑ 4 or more times*
5. HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD
First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth: l l OR if DOB refused, Age:
Gender: ❑ Male ❑ Female ❑ Transgender ❑ Unknown /Refused
Have you served in the U.S. Armed Forces? ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
Were you activated, into active duty, as a National Guard member or Reservist?
❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
Do you have a mental health, substance abuse or other disabilities that limit your ability to work or perform activities
of daily living? ❑ Yes* ❑ No
6. OTHER ADULT IN HOUSEHOLD #1:
First Name:
Date of Birth: l l
Last Name:
OR if DOB refused, Age:
Gender: ❑ Male ❑ Female ❑ Transgender ❑ Unknown /Refused
Have you served in the U.S. Armed Forces? ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
Were you activated, into active duty, as a National Guard member or Reservist?
❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
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Do you have a mental health, substance abuse or other disabilities that limit your ability to work or perform activities
of daily living? ❑ Yes* ❑ No
................................................................................ ...............................
THANK and END SURVEY. ❑ CHECK BOX WHEN THIS SURVEY
7. OTHER ADULT INHO(f HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO HMIS
................................................................................ ...............................
First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth: l l OR if DOB refused, Age:
Gender: ❑ Male ❑ Female ❑ Transgender ❑ Unknown /Refused
Have you served in the U.S. Armed Forces? ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
Were you activated, into active duty, as a National Guard member or Reservist?
❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
Do you have a mental health, substance abuse or other disabilities that limit your ability to work or perform activities
of daily living? ❑ Yes* ❑ No
(if there are more adults in the Household attach another Household Survey to this Survey)
Outreach Workers Only: Check Box if information was filled out by you because client refused to fill out the survey due to
Severe Mental Illness and or Substance Abuse in addition please provide, please provide specific location where the
person was found AND identifying descriptors — hair color and length, body build, tattoos, scars, wounds, disabilities, etc.)
❑ Check if survey was filled out by Outreach Worker
Description:
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Appendix 2: 2011 PIT Count Single Survey
USE THIS FORM IF THE CLIENT IS SINGLE
DRAFT 2011 City & County of Honolulu Homeless Point -in -Time Count Survey
Interviewer's Name: Agency /Group:
Site of Interview:
Date:
Introduction Example: "Hello, my name is , and I am an outreach worker /volunteer. We are doing a short
survey for an annual homeless count, and your responses will help fund homeless services throughout Hawaii. All of
your answers will be confidential. Can I ask you a few questions ?"
"Are you living alone or with others ?"
If living with others including a child under 18 use HOUSEHOLD form
"Where did you sleep this past Tuesday, JANUARY 25 ?"
If answer is House or Shelter, then THANK and END SURVEY.
"What area of the island did you sleep ?"
1. First Name:
2. Date of Birth: l l
3. Gender: ❑ Male ❑ Female
Area or Region # (1 — 7) [Map in back]
Last Name:
OR if DOB refused, Age:
❑ Transgender ❑ Unknown /Refused
4. Have you served in the U.S. Armed Forces? ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
5. Were you activated, into active duty, as a National Guard member or Reservist?
❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown ❑ Refused
6. How long have you been continuously homeless this time?
❑ Less than 1 year ❑ 1 year or longer*
7. How many times have you been homeless in the past 3 years?
❑ 1 — 3 times ❑ 4 or more times*
8. Were you on the street, beach, park or in an emergency shelter each time? ❑ Yes* ❑ No
9. Do you have a mental health, substance abuse or other disabilities that limit your ability to work or perform
activities of daily living? ❑ Yes* ❑ No
THANK and END SURVEY.
............................................................................................... ...............................
❑ CHECK BOX WHEN THIS SURVEY
HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO HMIS
:............................................................................................. ............................... .
10
Outreach Workers Only: Check Box if information was filled out by you because client refused to fill out
the survey due to Severe Mental Illness and or Substance Abuse in addition please provide, please
provide specific location where the person was found AND identifying descriptors — hair color and length,
body build, tattoos, scars, wounds, disabilities, etc.)
❑ Check if survey was filled out by Outreach Worker
Description:
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Appendix 3: 2011 Unsheltered PIT Count Materials to Surveyors
January 2011 Point In Time Count
Surveyor Volunteers are needed for both the Super Tuesday count and to help with surveying during the last week
in January. Attached are the Volunteer Sign -Up Form and the Contact Information and Confidentiality Form and
the Survey Instruction Sheet.
All surveyors must register by Friday, January 22. The Contact Information and Confidentiality Form must be
signed and turned in prior to the person surveying.
All Survey Volunteer forms should be sent to Vanessa Vallejos, her phone: 791 -9383, fax: 732 -0735, email:
vvalleiosRDwaikikihc.org.
Proposed Unsheltered Homeless Count Dates
Unsheltered Dates for the Count: Tuesday, January 26 to 31, 2011 unsheltered individuals and families count
Super Tuesday Point In Time Count: Tuesday, January 26, 2011 from 5:30 to 9:30 pm concentrated outreach to
count unsheltered individuals and families
Survey Instrument: The survey instrument will be provided. The form for singles will be on white paper, the
survey instrument for families will be on colored paper.
Training: There will be two trainings for Lead Coordinators and homeless program staff along with a mandatory
training for all surveyors working the Super Tuesday Count.
The two Lead Coordinators and homeless program staff trainings will be held on January 19 at 1:30 pm following
the PIC meeting at the Kapolei City Hall and on January 21 at 10:00 am at Aloha United Way, Oahu Room, 5th floor.
The mandatory training for all surveyors working the Super Tuesday Count will happen from 5:30 to 6:00 pm just
prior to the start of the count at each of the coordinating sites. All surveyors are required to attend.
Contact Information:
Darlene Hein — phone 791 -9380 or by email dheinPwaikikihc.org
Stephanie On — phone 768 -7752 or by email son @honolulu.gov
Carlos Peraro - by email carlosperaro @yahoo.com
Name:
Position:
E -mail:
Emergency Name and Contact #:
Preferred Geographic Area:
Contact Information and Confidentiality Form
2011 HOMELESS POINT -IN -TIME COUNT
Phone #:
Agency:
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Appendix 4: Statement of Confidentiality
2011 Point in Time Count Statement of Confidentiality
Must be signed by all Surveyors
All outreach staff and volunteers associated with the collection of homeless population data during the 2011
unsheltered Point in Time Count are subject to certain confidentiality guidelines.
These guidelines apply to all data collected during the six day period from January 26th — January 31st and to any
data that may subsequently be entered into the HMIS from this period.
The State of Hawaii's HMIS contains an appreciable amount of client information
that must be confidentially maintained. As the administrator of the HMIS, there are several guidelines that the
State of Hawaii would like to address regarding the upcoming collection of client data and the entering of this data
into the HMIS for applicable outreach staff.
• All client information gathered will be held strictly confidential.
• All completed surveys will be kept out of public view.
• Personal HMIS user identifications and passwords will be kept secure and will not be shared.
• Private information obtained from the HMIS is to remain confidential, even if an employee's job is
terminated or concludes for any reason.
• Entering known, inaccurate information about any client is prohibited.
Your signature below indicates your agreement to comply with this statement of confidentiality.
Outreach Agency if Applicable
Print Name
Signature
Date
Please fax all completed forms to Vanessa at 732 -0735 or turn in at the training.
SURVEYORS INSTRUCTIONS
2011 HOMELESS POINT -IN -TIME COUNT
Things to bring when surveying
• Surveys • Contact information of Lead Coordinator
• Pen or pencil • Other items if needed water, umbrella and /or flashlight
• Clipboard • Incentive items
• Cell phone
Safety Tips
• Never survey alone — Work in pairs and always stay within eyesight of others.
• Never survey in an isolated area unless the area and the clients are known to you
• The Lead Coordinator must be informed of surveying times and places
• It is recommended to wear white or brighter colors to be easily visible. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Limit the amount of accessories you wear.
• Look for any suspicious or dangerous activities when arriving at a site to be aware of areas to avoid.
• Be observant of people around you and look up often while administering the survey.
• Stay out of enclosed or tight spaces.
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• Do not pressure anyone to participate in the survey
• In case of an emergency, call or have another person call 911.
Survey Instruments
• ALL unaccompanied and accompanied households found at each site are to be surveyed. This includes
unaccompanied youth under 18.
• There are two survey instruments:
Single — white paper (Use this form for singles and couples without children)
Part of a Household — colored paper (a household must include children)
• Be consistent in the way that questions are asked. Do not reword or condense the questions when reading
them to respondents. Unless obvious (such as gender), ask every question.
• If respondents are hesitant in providing personal information, assure them that the information is confidential
and that it is only used to make sure that we do an accurate count and do not count people more than once.
If they still refuse, make sure to write down as detailed of a visual description of persons as possible so that
duplication can be reduced in the HMIS.
• For the living with others (accompanied) survey, if the other adult household members are not available, ask
the respondent to provide as detailed information on the absent individuals as possible.
• In order to be counted an individual must be seen by the surveyor.
• If an individual who is known to be homeless is unable or unwilling to be surveyed due to severe mental illness
or substance abuse intoxication, the Survey Form should be filled out as completely as possible including a
description of the person and the box checked indicating the person's refusal to participate.
Please fill out the survey form as completely and carefully as possible.
(Remember someone has to be able to read the form to input the data)
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