Transfixed Moment: Halting a Timeless Instant
Homelessness: A Snapshot in Time, Yet Missing the Whole Picture?
Capturing the true extent of homelessness isn’t always a walk in the park. Its diverse faces make the data collection process a bit of a challenge.
Canada’s Point-in-Time (PIT) Count aims to tackle this conundrum by presenting a one-night snapshot of individuals without a stable roof over their heads. This nationwide initiative, conducted yearly, gathers crucial data on demographics, the roots of homelessness, and service needs.
Volunteers play a crucial role, surveying people in shelters, on the street, and in public spaces. Their work offers critical insights for policymakers and service providers, helping to identify trends and strategize ways to combat homelessness nationwide.
However, journalist Owen Spillios-Hunter wondered, where does this information come from, and how accurate is it?
Shedding Light on the Count's Accuracy
The accuracy of the PIT Count depends on several factors:
- Methodology: The PIT Count takes a coordinated approach to count homeless individuals across communities within a 24-hour period. While it offers a baseline estimate, it might not capture the full picture, especially those in hidden homeless situations like those who couch-surf[4].
- Data Collection: Surveys carried out in shelters, on the streets, and in public spaces gather demographic information and service needs of the homeless population. However, response rates can vary, impacting accuracy[1][5].
- Participation and Response Rates: The number of volunteers and participants can affect accuracy. Higher participation rates lead to more comprehensive data, but there’s always a risk of underreporting, especially if some individuals are overlooked[1].
- Interpretation of Results: The results should be interpreted cautiously as they likely represent a minimum number of people experiencing homelessness. The PIT Count fails to capture all individuals, especially those in temporary or hidden situations[4].
- Collaboration and Training: The involvement of diverse stakeholders, including outreach workers, social workers, and individuals with lived experiences of homelessness, ensures an effective and accurate count[1].
- Comparison and Validation: Comparing data from different years and regions aids in validating the accuracy of the PIT Count. However, differences in methodology and coverage can impact comparability[3][4].
In essence, while the PIT Count offers valuable insights into homelessness, its accuracy can be impacted by factors such as underreporting and the exclusion of hidden homelessness situations.
Credits
Produced by Owen Spillios-Hunter & Ley Pickard
Special thanks to Kaite Burkholder Harris & Raynor Boutet
Additional photos courtesyof Owen Spillios-Hunter
Additional graphics from
2024 Final Results Presentation PowerPoint, provided by Raynor Boutet, City of Ottawa
New Canadians making up larger share of Ottawa's Homeless Population: Report, Nathan Fung, CBC News
Racialized men aged 25 to 49 most likely to experience homelessness in Ottawa, Rachel Morgan, CityNews
Counting the Undercounted: Enumerating Rural Homelessness in Canada, Rebecca Schiff, Ashley Wilkinson, Terrilee Kelford, Shane Pelletier, Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff, International Journal on Homelessness
Everyone Counts - A Guide to Point in Time Counts in Canada 4th Edition - Standards for Participation, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Government of Canada
Music
Beryllium, Farrel Wooten, Epidemic Sound
Additional Insights
Several factors can affect the accuracy of the PIT Count, including:
- Underreporting due to hidden homelessness situations.
- Variable response rates during surveys.
- Incomplete participation leading to missed individuals.
- The PIT Count likely captures a minimum number of people experiencing homelessness.
- The involvement of diverse stakeholders and effective training helps ensure accurate and comprehensive data collection.
- Comparison of data from different years and regions can validate the accuracy of the PIT Count, with differences in methodology and coverage affecting comparability.
More Stories
Source:[^1][^2][^3][^4]
[^1]: Harris, K. Burkholder, & Boutet, R. (2022). Everyone Counts – A Guide to Point in Time Counts in Canada 4th Edition – Standards for Participation. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/housing-infrastructure-communities/services/homelessness/pitcount_census/guidance-participation.html
[^2]: Schiff, R., Wilkinson, A., Kelford, T., Pelletier, S., & Waegemakers Schiff, J. (2021). Counting the Undercounted: Enumerating Rural Homelessness in Canada. Retrieved from https://ijh.yorku.ca/index.php/ijh/article/view/9914
[^3]: Morgan, R. (2021, June 30). Racialized men aged 25 to 49 most likely to experience homelessness in Ottawa. Retrieved from https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2021/06/30/racialized-men-aged-25-to-49-most-likely-to-experience-homelessness-in-ottawa/
[^4]: Fung, N. (2021, September 21). New Canadians making up larger share of Ottawa's Homeless Population: Report. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/newcomers-homelessness-ottawa-1.6174877
[^5]: Burkholder Harris, K., & Boutet, R. (2019). Halfway to Home: Strengthening Shelters in Canada. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/association-shelter-providers-canada/news/2019/05/halfway-to-home-strengthening-shelters-in-canada.html
- The PIT Count's accuracy can be influenced by underreporting due to hidden homelessness situations, such as those who couch-surf, and variable response rates during surveys.
- A more comprehensive data collection is achieved with higher participation rates, but there’s always a risk of underreporting, especially if some individuals are overlooked.
- The PIT Count likely captures a minimum number of people experiencing homelessness, excluding those in temporary or hidden situations.
- Comparing data from different years and regions aids in validating the accuracy of the PIT Count, but differences in methodology and coverage can impact comparability.
Additional insights:- The involvement of diverse stakeholders and effective training helps ensure accurate and comprehensive data collection.- The PIT Count offers valuable insights into homelessness, but its accuracy can be impacted by factors such as underreporting and the exclusion of hidden homelessness situations.- The accuracy of the PIT Count depends on several factors, including methodology, data collection, participation and response rates, interpretation of results, collaboration and training, and comparison and validation.
