The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) has announced the commencement of a campaign to recruit 1,200 volunteers for a single-night survey of individuals experiencing homelessness in Austin and its surrounding areas.
According to ECHO, in a press release issued on September 26, the biannual Point in Time (PIT) Count is scheduled for January 25, 2025. Potential volunteers are encouraged to sign up at austinecho.org/pitcount.
ECHO will provide updates on the sign-up page. The last time an in-person PIT Count was conducted in the community was in 2023. More than 700 people volunteered to survey individuals and distribute thousands of care kits containing socks, hygiene items, snacks, and other essentials, according to the release.
The results from the survey are not intended as a precise census of those who are unhoused. However, they help the community better understand who is being served, guide changes in the Homelessness Response System (HRS), and highlight the impacts of policy changes.