“They Count, Will you?”
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(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Hundreds of volunteers are needed on January 22, 2025, from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the countywide 2025 Homeless Point-In-Time Count.
The Point-In-Time Count is the annual count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness on a given day. It is put on by The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care (CoC), in partnership with the County of Santa Barbara and The Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation (SBACT).
Teams of volunteers will canvas assigned routes throughout Santa Barbara County and will briefly document who is experiencing homelessness. This information is used to plan local homeless assistance systems, justify funding, and raise public awareness.
All volunteers are required to attend a training session. In this 1-hour session, volunteers will learn more about the importance of the count, review canvassing best practices, explore the Point-In-Time survey tool, go through Frequently Asked Questions and more. To make this training as accessible as possible, online trainings are offered on varied days and times between January 14th and 17th. Only one training is required. To volunteer, please sign up at https://countyofsb.pointintime.info/. Volunteers can register as individuals or in teams. The final day to sign up to volunteer is January 17, 2025. Spanish training is available upon request, please email pit@sbact.org by January 13, 2025.
“The Point-in-Time Count results affect everything from homelessness services offered to how much funding is available. It is important we have an accurate count, and we cannot do that without the help of many volunteers. Homelessness is a community-wide problem, and it requires a community-wide solution,” said Matthew Rector, Housing Program Specialist Senior with the County of Santa Barbara Community Services Department.
The Point-In-Time count is only possible with a community-wide effort by the incredible support of many volunteers and partners.
All are welcome; please go to https://countyofsb.pointintime.info/ and let us know if you plan to participate.