Measure Description

The Point-in-Time (PIT) count serves as a snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night in late January. The count is conducted by outreach volunteers with the Palm Beach County Department of Human Services on a biennial basis. Starting in 2017, the PIT Count in Palm Beach County will be done annually. Methodology on how the count is conducted is prescribed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development with supplements from the local Homeless Continuum of Care.

Measure Importance

When a PIT count shows an upward trend over more than two periods, it enables local administrators and homeless providers to justify additional resources and changes in HUD funding strategies to help reduce the number of homeless. A decreasing trend could provide justification that local strategies are working and should be continued.

Measure Chart

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Explanation of Performance

The last PIT Count was held in January of 2018 and showed a slight decrease in the number of homeless within West Palm Beach compared to the 2017 count. In 2018, 462 homeless were counted in West Palm Beach compared to 498 the year before. The City’s Housing and Community Development Department has initiated several strategies and programs to combat homelessness including the following: providing temporary rental assistance, funding a Peer Outreach Team through the Lord’s Place, funding youth homelessness prevention through Vita Nova, supplying permanent housing projects, and providing funding support for the development of new supportive housing projects. In 2018, the City also convened a Homelessness Task Force that provided additional recommendations on homeless prevention strategies. Recommendations of the Task Force to expand the Peer Outreach Teams, expand funding for rental support, and fund mobile/street mental health services will be implemented this fiscal year. 

To supplement the annual PIT Count, the City has additionally implemented a municipal homeless count to include quarterly census counts of the homeless within two zip codes that have historically have shown the highest number of homeless, 33401 and 33407. These quarterly numbers will supplement the annual PIT and be published implemented in the first quarter of FY19.

Status Indicator Definitions
On Target: Meets or exceeds expected performance
Watch: Falls close to expected performance
Below Target: Does not meet expectation; being monitored for improvement
Other Data: Data gathering only, no target