Catholic Charities Undertaking Unsheltered Count in 2020

Catholic Charities Undertaking Unsheltered Count in 2020

Catholic Charities of Chemung and Schuyler will be conducting interviews with the public to measure homelessness in our community. The week of interviews will be focused on where individuals slept during one specific “point-in-time,” Wednesday, January 29, 2020. This Point-In-Time Study (PIT) will be conducted in a five-county region and is part of US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) funding and in partnership with CARES, Inc.

A Point-In-Time Study is a coordinated effort within a specific region to count the number of homeless persons during a specific one-day point in time. HUD requests this information to better understand and address homelessness at a national level. Because of this PIT Study, federal funds could be used to address homeless issues specifically within our region. Therefore, Catholic Charities’ funding is directly tied to the completion of this study.

Catholic Charities’ Staff will be conducting interviews throughout the following days at community organizations and public “warming” locations, for example, the bus station and public library, as well as local food pantries.

In 2019, there were 556 individuals who experienced homelessness and received services in Chemung County (109 of them were under 18 years old).

For community members interested in helping, Catholic Charities is specifically in need of bus tokens, grocery gift cards and granola bars/trail mix/individually wrapped snacks. Donations may be brought to Catholic Charities’ Main Office (215 E Church St, Elmira, NY), Monday-Friday from 8:30a-4:30p (closed noon-1pm) or The Schuyler Outreach Food Pantry (112 10th St, Watkins Glen, NY) Tuesday & Friday: 9am—2pm, Thursday: Noon—4pm.