Imagine a County Where No One Has to Sleep Outside
Mary Ann Priester
Senior Management Analyst
Mecklenburg County Community Support Services
Jessica Lefkowitz
Executive Director
Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition
Over the past two days, 28 CMPD officers and 35 teams of over 200 community volunteers came together to ensure #EverybodyCountsCLT. Together these dedicated community members facilitated a successful 2024 Point in Time Count by providing logistical support and conducting surveys with people experiencing unsheltered homelessness across Mecklenburg County. Point in Time Count co-leads, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services and Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition would like to express their sincere gratitude to each person experiencing homelessness who completed the survey and all who engaged in the planning, volunteered their time, provided supplies and financial donations, or raised awareness for this year’s event. The work does not stop here.
This blog provides an overview of the Count, what’s next, and how you can stay involved throughout the year.
2024 CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POINT IN TIME COUNT
The 2024 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Point in Time (PIT) Count was conducted on Thursday, January 25th. The annual Point in Time Count is a mandated activity for all communities that receive Continuum of Care grant dollars from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the PIT count is so much more than a required activity. It is how we come together as a community to enumerate and understand homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Last year, 1,916 people (including 288 people living unsheltered) were counted during the Point in Time Count.
In addition to collecting HUD required information, the PIT survey includes locally generated questions. This year’s locally generated questions focused on resource access and eligibility, displacement, preferred shelter characteristics, and barriers to obtaining housing. The data that is collected is used to help the local homeless services system better serve people experiencing homelessness and to inform local homelessness and housing solutions.
POP-UPS AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
In addition to the traditional unsheltered Census that involves canvassing the community to engage people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, this year’s PIT Count added two pop-up events. The pop-ups were targeted toward groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the PIT count. The Relatives hosted a pop-up event for youth ages 18-24 and Time Out Youth and Transcend Charlotte partnered to host a pop-up for persons who identify as LGBTQ+. Both events offered resources and services and had volunteers on site to conduct surveys with people who indicated they had slept outside on the night of the PIT. In addition to the pop-ups, this year’s PIT planning team collaborated with Atrium and Novant to restructure the approach to ensuring people in Emergency Departments (EDs) across the County are counted. We are hopeful that this new model will enhance the ability to engage people who are experiencing homelessness and utilizing EDs on the night of the Count.
MECKLENBURG COUNTY DETENTION CENTER
This year’s count also featured a first ever, Mecklenburg County Detention Center (MCDC) Count. People who are homeless at MCDC entry retain their homeless status if they were homeless at entry and their detention center stay is less than 90 days. Credentialed staff and community advocates will conduct the community survey (with the addition of some criminal justice specific questions) with people who meet these criteria. The MCDC Count was made possible in partnership with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services. The MCDC Count began 1/25 and will be completed 2/1.
PARTNERSHIPS
Also, new this year were corporate partnerships with the Bank of America Data, Digital, and Global Marketing Team and Ice Age Management, and philanthropic partnership with SHARE Charlotte. Partnerships and collaboration are essential not only to ensure everybody counts but also to do the work necessary to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Mecklenburg County. We are grateful to the numerous governmental and non-profit organizations that supported the planning of this year’s Count and who engage in the work to end homelessness on a daily basis.
Ada Jenkins
Alliance Health
Another Chance House of Refuge
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries
Atrium Health
Block Love Charlotte
CARES Team
CMPD
CMS
CoC Lived Experience Committee
Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition
Hearts United for Good
Homeless Services Network
Hope for Justice
Just Do It Movement
Mecklenburg County
Novant Health
Project Outpour
Roof Above
Sowing Mustard Seeds
The Relatives
The Salvation Army
Time Out Youth
Transcend Charlotte
United Way of Greater Charlotte
Veterans Administration
Veterans Bridge Home
WHAT’S NEXT?
After Point-in-Time Count data collection is completed on February 1, staff will review and prepare the data for submission to HUD. You can expect to see an initial data release via this blog in late May or early June. A full analysis of all survey and PIT data will be released as part of the 2024 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Instability & Homelessness Report.
The work to end homelessness is not a one-night affair. Community support and engagement throughout the year is needed. Stay tuned to www.mecklenburghousingdata.org for the outcomes from the PIT and to learn about the One Number, which is how we track trends in homelessness each month.
To stay informed about the state of housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Sign up to receive the Building Bridges Blog and the Continuum of Care Weekly Digest newsletter. You can also visit the CharMeck CoC webpage to learn about opportunities to serve on CoC Committees and Workgroups actively engaged in the strategic work to end homelessness.
Finally, continue to raise awareness about the need for more permanent, affordable housing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. You can do this by learning about the issues, attending local board meetings, advocating at the local, state, and national level, and sharing your efforts on social media.
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
The goal of the Point in Time Count is to ensure that all people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg are counted because each individual matters. The PIT serves as a call to action. It also serves as a reminder that just like the PIT Count, ending homelessness requires a coordinated community effort. It requires action and engagement by individual citizens and organizations and across sectors. The PIT reminds us that if we show up, breakdown silos, and work together as a community, homelessness is solvable.
