City staff will take part in a coordinated effort to measure homelessness across Texas, referred to nationally as the Point-in-Time (PIT) Homeless Count. The effort is facilitated by the City of Longview’s Volunteer in Service to America coordinator Sabrina Fields, the North East Texas Homeless Consortium (NET), the Texas Homeless Network and volunteers from the community. As in years prior, those involved will also participate with the City of Longview Homeless Resource Day, which serves as the “hub” for the PIT Count.

The PIT Count takes place on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Trained volunteers will count and survey individuals who are staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations (outdoor encampments, streets, cars, and other places not meant for habitation) in our community. This count will provide a “snapshot” of the number of people experiencing homelessness as well as key characteristics of those individuals and families.

According to Laura Hill, director of Grant and Human Services, this count is truly beneficial to our community and is very much a value added resource as we work to address those key concerns outlined in Mayor Mack’s Task Force on Homelessness”.

The results will indicate the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in our community on any given night. Other forms of homelessness, such as people staying temporarily with friends or those that are able to come up with enough funds for a hotel/motel, are not included in the PIT Count (per HUD guidelines). This means the PIT Count data will only be representing a fraction of the homeless population in Longview.

 “The count will help improve our understanding of the needs and circumstances of the people experiencing homelessness in our community,” Fields said. The survey will also provide key data on gender, age, ethnicity, veteran status and more.