PIT Count 2021: Unsheltered Count Canceled; Sheltered Count as Normal

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) has requested and been granted an exemption from all unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) Count activities for January 2021.

The LA BOSCOC will not conduct an unsheltered count in January 2021 or collect/release any of the associated data about people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

The LA BOSCOC will conduct and release data about the January 2021 sheltered PIT Count as usual.

Background

The PIT Count is a single night census of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires Continuums of Care (CoCs) to conduct the PIT Count on an annual basis in late January.

Historically, the LA BOSCOC has been a strong participant in and proponent of the PIT Count; every year, the LA BOSCOC’s data quality, estimated percentage of people counted, total paid staff participants, and total volunteer participants has increased. (You can find data from the LA BOSCOC’s 2018, 2019, and 2020 PIT Counts here: https://laboscoc.org/data)

On November 16, 2020, HUD released its “2021 HIC and PIT Count Updates for CoCs” mailing, which allows CoCs to request exceptions from unsheltered PIT Count requirements for January 2021.

CoC staff met with more than two dozen critical PIT Count stakeholders and with the LA BOSCOC Board to determine how the LA BOSCOC should engage the January 2021 PIT Count, and the response was unanimous: due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing challenges presented by the most active and second-deadliest storm season on record, the LA BOSCOC should not conduct an unsheltered PIT Count.

On November 30, 2020, CoC staff submitted the LA BOSCOC’s request to HUD for a complete exemption from the January 2021 unsheltered PIT Count.

On November 30, 2020, HUD staff responded and granted the LA BOSCOC’s exemption request.

Questions?

Please submit any questions about the January 2021 PIT Count to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care is dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Louisiana. We believe all people are entitled to safe, stable, and secure housing. We are committed to working with stakeholders across our geography, in different professional circles, and from every background to create a Louisiana in which no person lives in fear of homelessness.