Students and staff to take part in Sacramento homeless census
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Erin Quandt (right) explains to a volunteer the Housing and Urban Development survey form used in the field to understand the homeless demographic at a Point-in-time count in 2015. Sac State’s Division of Social Work will be participating in a similar event next week.
January 25, 2019
The 2019 homeless Point In Time (PIT) count is an attempt to gather information on the homeless population in Sacramento County.
On Jan. 30 and 31, hundreds of Sac State students and staff will spread throughout Sacramento to count and interview the homeless population to provide a Sacramento County census.
These students and staff will have two deployment sites: the Sacramento State Downtown campus located on S Street and the Department of Human Assistance on 28th Street.
“Through these interviews, homeless individuals will be answering questions such as how did they become homeless, if they were Sacramento residents previously, and other questions to gather data on how to provide better services and support for the homelessness,” said Arturo Baiocchi, assistant professor of the Division of Social Work at Sac State.
Sac State’s Division of Social Work and Institute for Social Research partnered with the organization Sacramento Steps Forward in order to encourage students and staff to volunteer.
According to Baiocchi, 240 students have signed up as of Dec. 23 and the number is expected to grow.
“This event is a federal requirement that happens every year,” Baiocchi said.
Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, have a strong interest in helping the homeless and have attended one training session to take part in the PIT count.
