Congratulations to Riverside and San Bernardino Counties for National Association of Counties (NACo) 2019 Achievement Awards Related to Homeless Point-in-Time Counts

Congratulations to Riverside County for
“Enhancing the Homeless Point-In-Time Count
through Mapping Technology”

Congratulations to San Bernardino for
“Embracing GIS Technology for the Homeless Point-in-Time Count”

The National Association of Counties (NACo) will present the 2019 Achievement Awards to the two counties during the NACo Achievement Awards Luncheon from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM on July 14, 2019 at NACo’s Annual Conference and Exposition in Clark County, Nevada.

Riverside County Abstract:

Every year, community volunteers participate in the annual federally mandated Homeless Point-In-Time (PIT) Count and Survey which reflects a snapshot of Riverside County’s homeless population at one particular point-in-time. Accuracy of the data collection is critical as the County of Riverside Continuum of Care (CoC) receives over $10 million dollars annually from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the administration of homeless programs and services. In 2018, the Survey 123 app was piloted in four cities during the PIT Count and Survey. In 2019, in its role as the designated collaborative applicant for the County of Riverside CoC, the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) opted to implement use of the Survey 123 app countywide. By using this technology to collect PIT Count data, coordinators were able to create an accurate and up-to-date geographical view of individuals experiencing homelessness in Riverside County. In addition, the app generated the exact locations of veterans requesting services and identified the cities and unincorporated areas not covered on the day of the count to allow for efficient follow-up during the post-PIT count.

San Bernardino County Abstract:

To better understand and combat homelessness, San Bernardino County conducts a county-wide Point-in-Time count (PITC) of unsheltered and sheltered persons experiencing homelessness every year. The annual count is crucial in securing funding from several competitive federal and state grant programs for homeless assistance programs, as well as helping county officials and policy makers gain better understandings of patterns in and causes of homelessness in the county. After a pilot program in 2018, San Bernardino County officials and volunteers conducted the 2019 PITC using a mobile application on Android and iOS devices, leveraging GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology. It marked the first time the county had transitioned from paper-based surveys to app-based surveys county-wide, an effort that was jointly led by the county’s Homeless Partnership and Information Services Department (ISD). By moving to the mobile application for conducting the count, San Bernardino County was able to simplify the volunteer surveyor’s experience as well as eliminate the data entry phase. Conducting the survey using the mobile application also yielded additional information never collected before, which paved the way for new mapping possibilities, insights and outreach opportunities not possible with the paper surveys used in previous Point-in-Time counts.