Shelby County Homelessness

The Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH) and the Memphis and Shelby County Homeless Consortium will be working with volunteers to collect data to develop resources, programs, and funding for those experiencing homelessness.

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is an annual initiative scheduled for January 22, 2025. Volunteers will meet at First Congregational Church, 1000 South Cooper Street, at 3:15 a.m., where they will form teams to survey unsheltered locations, including streets, parks, and encampments. These teams, led by trained leaders, will cover areas across Memphis and Shelby County to better assess the scope of homelessness in the region.

In addition to surveying these areas, participants will be distributing care bags with hygiene products, warm clothes, and snacks to those they encounter.

“Volunteering for the PIT Count is a unique opportunity to directly impact the fight against homelessness,” CAFTH officials said. “This annual event brings people together to count and survey our neighbors experiencing homelessness, giving us the data we need to better serve them and bring lasting change to Memphis and Shelby county.”

According to CAFTH, this is required nationally by Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 2023 PIT summary for Memphis and Shelby County showed there were a total of 1,292 people experiencing homelessness, 1,172 individuals were sheltered, and 165 were categorized as unsheltered.

Those aged 25 and over made up for a majority of these numbers at a total of 908 people. Youth under the age of 18 accounted for the second largest group with 295 individuals.

Officials said this project informs strategic planning for housing and services. They added that collecting accurate data helps them further secure state and federal funding.

CAFTH officials said they were able to secure over $11 million in government funding through connecting 20 organizations across Memphis and Shelby County. Funds were secured through gathering and analyzing data on homelessness as well.

PIT is part of CAFTH’s vision to end homelessness through a collaborative approach. The organization has outlined three goals with strategic action to make sure that homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time.

The alliance’s 901 Home Together: Strategic Plan to End Homelessness in Memphis and Shelby County guide shows that to ensure brevity they must identify and engage those experiencing homelessness as quickly as possible.

This strategy consists of street outreach and coordinating programs that will allow people to access services quickly. CAFTH said they use input from those with lived experiences and outreach workers.

Those interested in participating can sign up to volunteer in the count here. The community is also asked to identify known locations for those experiencing homelessness prior to the event.

CAFTH

The 2020 Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count found that 90% of those experiencing homelessness in TN were sheltered.

This week, the Continuum of Care began conducting its bi-annual Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count to monitor the homeless population in Shelby County. Continuum of Care is one of the lead agencies tasked with working towards ending homelessness in Memphis. and group works with different service providers and partners throughout the city to tackle the issue.

The Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count keeps track of how many times people move in and out of shelters in the city, and is federally mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. During the count, volunteers go through Memphis and create a list of those experiencing homelessness on the streets and in shelters. That data is then fed into the homelessness management system allowing for an accurate representation of the homeless population in Memphis, as well as nationwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how the Continuum of Care has tackled the count. Planning director Grant Ebbesmeyer explains that while this has been a difficult year, they have still been able to find positives.

“It’s certainly a difficult year. From a broad perspective, it changed how a lot of our partners have worked together, but it’s actually been kind of a positive,” says Ebbesmeyer “We have definitely been able to strengthen relationships with some of our partners, and amongst other partners as well, who in the past might have said we need to do something more on our own, but these days have realized that there is really strength in numbers through coming together and partnering with different agencies.”

This year the Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count will look a little different. Normally, around 100 volunteers would spilt up and begin canvassing the street at 4 am before heading to soup kitchens and meal sites later in the day. Due to COVID-19, Continuum of Care will instead ask 11 different service sites throughout the city to monitor and gather data from those stopping by the shelters. The canvassing period has been elongated to compensate for the change, and the organization will continue to send out small groups of people to gather data each day.

“We know it’s not perfect, but in a lot of ways, this is the best that we can do, working with some of our agencies that have very limited capacity or staff to be able to report data to us on a regular basis,” says Ebbesmeyer. “We definitely didn’t want to miss having a full data set for this year, especially since it’s been a very different year than in the past.”