[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Re: Article in Daily Camera today on Homelessness

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Becker, KC

Karen:
Thanks so much for this information.
A couple questions that hopefully can be addressed in the Information  Update on August 7th.
1. It seems like reliable data is hard to come by. How can Boulder work to assure more consistent and reliable data?
2. Where can we find the Point in Time survey?
3. The article doesn't tell us how "homeless" is defined. I was a little confused when it said that only 4% of the respondents had spent the night "on the street" in the last year. Can you explain this a little more for us?
4. This question is a bit more complicated, so an answer might take longer to provide, or might be part of a larger discussion. How do we know, given the inconsistent data, that our programs and services (and our limited tax dollars to spend on human services needs) are directed in the most efficient, effective way?

Thanks,

KC

On Jul 24, 2012, at 3:39 PM, Rahn, Karen wrote:



In this morning’s Daily Camera was an article titled, Homeless Numbers Up in Longmont. I thought I would provide some context and clarification regarding the data provided. Each year in January the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative completes a Point in Time Survey (PIT) of the homeless population across the state. The data is reported county-wide, with city specific data provided for some local areas upon request. The cities of Longmont and Boulder requested MDHI do a break out. In the article, the reference to Boulder was:



“Boulder's homeless population dropped 18 percent, falling from 914 last year to 750 this year. It's the first time since 2006 that Boulder's homeless numbers have dropped, and the first year since 2009 that Longmont's numbers have surpassed Boulder's.” The PIT  provides a snapshot of the community, however assuming trends from one year to another is problematic for the following reasons:



1.   The PIT survey methodology has changed year to year, making it difficult to draw any conclusions regarding trends.   In 2012, fewer agencies participated in conducting the survey, and many fewer surveys were collected in the city of Boulder in 2012 than in 2011. Additionally, there were disproportionately fewer surveys collected in Boulder than in Longmont.

 Four major city of Boulder agencies that provided 131 surveys in  2011 did not participate in 2012.  In total, there were 27% fewer agencies participating in the city of Boulder than in 2012.  As a result, 17% fewer surveys were collected from city of Boulder agencies than in 2011.  While 23% fewer agencies participated in Longmont than participated in 2011, only 4% fewer surveys were collected than in 2011.  Also, in 2012, few surveys were collected from those on the street. Most surveys were collected at agencies or locations where people access services,  which changes the demographics of the total population.

2.   Boulder is the county seat home to a disproportionately greater number of service providers who focus on serving homeless individuals (Boulder Shelter, ARC, Mental Health Partners). It’s likely that Boulder serves a disproportionately greater population of single homeless, and Longmont serves a disproportionately greater number of families. From the 2012 PIT survey, the total number of homeless people in households with children in Longmont was 544, whereas the total number of homeless in households with children in Boulder was 391.  In 2011, this was the opposite:  Boulder had 553 homeless in households with children and Longmont had 386.  This can largely be attributed to survey methodology changes.
 Additional information will be provided in the August 7th IP- Homeless Issues Update. Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.
 Regards--

Karen Rahn
Director, Housing and Human Services
City of Boulder
P.O. Box 791, Boulder, Colorado 80306
1101 Arapahoe 2nd floor, Boulder, Colorado 80302
303-441-3161
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