HELENA — Results from the annual Point-In-time Survey put on the United Way of the Lewis & Clark Area (UWLCA) show decreased homelessness on paper. Still, according to advocates, that might not be an accurate reflection of the homeless population in the area.
ALLIE KAISER REPORTS - WATCH:
"What you see on the streets downtown – maybe you see a lot of people who have mental health concerns, substance abuse or co-occurring – that is the seen unsheltered population," said Emily McVey, the executive director of UWLCA. "Most of our unsheltered population are the people that you don't see. They're living doubled up. They're living in campers and cars tucked away. They're living up in the mountains."
The Point-In-Time Survey looks to find statistics for the unsheltered population in our community and is conducted at the end of every January.
The survey included roughly 20 questions like, "Where are you sleeping tonight?" and "Is this your first unsheltered episode?"
UWLCA conducts the survey in various ways: hosting free dinners, sending them to their service partners, and canvassing around town.
The agency's community impact coordinator, Jeff Buscher, said, "We counted 45 vehicles that were occupied, and what we don't do is knock on the window of occupied vehicles and ask them to do the interview for safety reasons."
This year, the results showed a population of 143 unsheltered people in our community, a decrease of 38 people from last year.
The results from this year included 34 children, 12 veterans, and 58 individuals with disabling conditions.
UWLCA says that while these results show a decrease in the unsheltered population on paper, that might not be accurate, as only four out of their 25 partner shelters or transitional facilities completed the surveys or were counted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
"The response rate was lower this year [and] we're trying to work with our partner agencies to find out either why they weren't able to complete the surveys or why they weren't counted," said McVey.
United Way says some places like Instar Community Services – a sober living facility – cannot be counted by HUD, even when they had 16 people living there the day of the survey, and they may have been homeless otherwise.
"That does lead to a lower number [and] unfortunately, that leads to lower funding for services in the community," said McVey. "That doesn't directly affect United Way necessarily, but it affects our partners, and it affects the clients."
