Configure Homelessness Point-in-Time Count

In this topic, you'll learn how to configure the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution to meet specific needs in your organization.

Tip:

As you configure the solution, record the configurations or alterations you make with each version in a change log. This information will be valuable if you upgrade to a new version and need to evaluate the effort required.

Modify surveys

The Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution includes two surveys that dynamically read the values of assignment areas used to populate a choice list. You will modify both surveys to enable them to dynamically read the assignment areas included with your solution.

Modify Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application survey

The volunteer application survey allows citizens to apply as volunteers to conduct the count and pick a preferred assignment area. For the survey to recognize the assignment areas you have created, you must sync the survey with the assignment areas layer.

To sync the survey with the assignment areas layer, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the AssignmentAreas_assignmentsummary hosted feature layer.
2. From the item page, under Layers, click the AssignmentAreas_assignmentsummary layer.
3. Next to the URL, click the Copy button to copy the REST endpoint.
4. Paste the URL into Microsoft Notepad or another text editor for reference.
5. Install ArcGIS Survey123 Connect.
6. Start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
7. Click Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application to download the survey.
8. In the Download window, click Download and click OK.
9. Click Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application to open the survey.
10. Click XLSForm in the upper left.

    A spreadsheet with the form structure opens.

11. In the spreadsheet, scroll right to the default column, and then replace AssignmentAreaplaceholderURL with the feature service URL that you copied previously.

    Note:

    Keep Notepad open; you will need this URL for the subsequent workflow.

12. Save the spreadsheet.
13. In ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, in the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
14. Review your updates and click Publish Survey, and then click OK.

    Note:

    If you see a warning about field aliases being changed, you can ignore it.

    Note:

    The Preferred Assignment Area drop-down list will be populated when you create assignment areas in a subsequent workflow.

15. At the bottom of the spreadsheet, click the choices tab.

    This tab includes all the selectable options for survey questions.

16. Modify the name and label for Shift A, Shift B, and Shift C to correlate to the hourly shifts your organization uses.

    Tip:

    If your organization does not use specific shifts for the count, you can hide this question. On the survey tab, in cell A16, change select_one Shift to hidden.

17. Save the spreadsheet.
18. In Survey123 Connect, review your updates.

    If you modified the shift labels, the new labels appear in the form preview under Shift.

19. In the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
20. Click Publish Survey, and then click OK.
21. At the upper left, click the back arrow to return to the list of available surveys.

Modify Assign Volunteer survey

The Assign Volunteer survey allows point-in-time coordinators to assign volunteers to a specific assignment layer and choose which deployment site the volunteers should report to. For the survey to recognize the assignment areas and deployment sites you have created, you must sync the survey with the associated layers.

1. If necessary, start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. Click Assign Volunteer to download the survey.
3. In the Download window, click Download and click OK.
4. Click Assign Volunteer to open the survey.
5. Click XLSForm in the upper left.
6. In the spreadsheet, scroll right to the default column, and then replace AssignmentAreaplaceholderURL with the feature service URL that you copied previously.
7. Save the spreadsheet.
8. In ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, in the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
9. Click Publish Survey, and then click OK.

   Note:

   If you see a warning about field aliases being changed, you can ignore it.

   Note:

   The Preferred Assignment Area drop-down list will be populated when you create assignment areas in a subsequent workflow.

10. At the bottom of the spreadsheet, click the choices tab.
11. Modify the name and label for Shift A, Shift B, and Shift C to correlate to the hourly shifts your organization uses.

    Tip:

    If your organization does not use specific shifts for the count, you can hide this question. On the survey tab, in cell A14, change select_one Shift to hidden.

12. In Survey123 Connect, review your updates.

    If you modified the shift labels, the new labels appear in the form preview under Shift.

13. In the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
14. Click Publish Survey, and then click OK.

Load data

Note:

This workflow is optional and does not need to be completed to work with the solution.

The Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution includes the AssignmentAreas and DeploymentSites feature layer. These layers store data for your organization's volunteer assignment areas and areas where those volunteers should report to. Tools are provided in the solution to create assignment areas and deployment sites if you do not have these datasets. If you have existing data, before using the solution, you can load your assignment areas and deployment sites into their respective layers.

Load assignment areas from a shapefile or file geodatabase

To load assignment areas from a shapefile or file geodatabase, complete the following steps:

1. Create a .zip file of your shapefile or file geodatabase.
2. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the AssignmentAreas feature layer.
3. From the item page, click Update data.

   Tip:

   You may need to click the Show more button to see all options.

4. Follow the steps in the Update data wizard to load your data.

Note:

The volunteersneeded field will need to be populated to indicate how many volunteers are needed in each area. In addition, the nameandaddress field will need to be populated as it is used in the email sent to volunteers directing them where to report.
5. Repeat these steps to add data to the DeploymentSites feature layer.

Tip:

For more information about uploading data, see Manage hosted feature layers—Append data to layers.

Configure the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site

The Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution includes the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count ArcGIS Hub site. This site can be configured with your organization's branding and used to share information about the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count program with the public.

Update with organizational information

After deploying the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution, the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site layout requires a few updates to fit your local context.

To update the site with your organizational information, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site.
2. From the item page, click Edit in Hub.

   Note:

   If you see the Welcome to workspaces splash screen, click Use workspaces. Then, if necessary, click Edit layout.

3. Scroll to any sections that you want to update, hover over the card, and click the edit button that appears in the horizontal toolbar, and then edit the content with information specific to your organization.
4. In the side panel, click Footer.

   A custom footer is provided. In most cases, you will need to update it with your organization's branding, contact information, and social media references.

5. Click the HTML box.

   The HTML window appears.

6. Make the necessary changes and click Apply.
7. Click Save layout.
8. Click Publish layout.

Share items with the public

A layer view, map, and Hub site included in the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution must be shared with everyone so the public can access them on the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site.

To share items with the public, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count folder.
2. Sort items by title.
3. Next to each of the following items, check the check box:

   Name	Item type
   AssignmentAreas_assignmentsummary	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   Homelessness Point-in-Time Count	Hub Site Application
   Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Recruitment	Web Map

4. Click Share.
5. In the Share window, click Everyone (public) and click Save.

Share the volunteer application form with the Hub community group

Note:

You must be a community administrator or added as a Group Manager to the Hub community group to complete this workflow.

The Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution is used to cultivate a volunteer workforce to canvass your community for the homelessness point-in-time count.

To apply as a volunteer, applicants need to visit the Homelessness Point-in-Time ArcGIS Hub site and register for a community account. The account will allow them to sign in to the site and access the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application form. To grant this access, you must share both the form and the PITVolunteers_submit feature layer to the Hub Community Members group. This group is created automatically during Hub Premium activation and contains all members of your community organization. As new community members join, they will be added to this group automatically and will have access to the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application form.

To share items with the group, complete the following steps:

Note:

You must be a community administrator or added as a Group Manager to the Hub community group to complete this workflow.

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count folder.
2. Sort items by title.
3. Next to each of the following items, check the check box:

   Name	Item type
   AssignmentAreas_assignmentsummary	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   PITVolunteers_submit	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application	Form
   Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application	Web Map

4. Click Share.
5. In the Share window, click Edit group sharing.
6. Check the <Your organization name> Community Members group check box.

Note:

The name of the group will start with the name of your organization. The Hub Community Members group will only be available to users who were administrators of the organization when Hub Premium was activated. If you don’t see this group, work with the Hub Community organization administrator to get access.

7. Click Apply, and then click Save.

Notify volunteer applicants

Volunteer coordinators use the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Manager to approve volunteers. The Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Notebook can be configured so that after applicants are approved, the notebook automatically grants them access to the program and sends a welcome email.

Schedule email notifications

After the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Notebook runs, volunteers are notified by email that they have been approved and given access to the Volunteer Resources Hub page.

To configure Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Notebook to run as a scheduled task, complete the following steps:

Note:

You must be assigned either an administrator role or a custom role that includes the privilege to create, edit, and schedule notebooks to run.

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Notebook item.
2. From the item page, click Open notebook.
3. Click Tasks.
4. Click Create Task.
5. For Title, type Point in Time Volunteer Approval Task and click Next.

   Now, you will configure the task to run nightly.

6. For Repeat type, choose Day, and for Repeat interval, choose 1 - Every Day.
7. Set Time to run at 03:00 AM.
8. Click Create.
9. Click Save to save the notebook.

Note:

This process will send updates to volunteers who applied early. On the morning of the point-in-time count, you may have volunteers that show up on site and want to be approved right away. For security purposes, they should follow the same process of applying to volunteer because it will give them access to appropriate resources. In this case, on the day of the count, you may want to adjust the interval to every 15 minutes or run the notebook manually.

Configure email templates

To modify emails sent by the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Notebook, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Volunteer Email Templates CSV file.
2. From the item page, click Download.
3. Open the CSV file.

   The CSV file has two columns. The first column identifies variables the notebook uses to construct the email . The second column provides the email text. The following table describes the function of each row:

   Row	Function
   subject_approved	The subject of the email if a volunteer has been approved
   subject_denied	The subject of the email if a volunteer has been denied
   hyperlink	The website of the Volunteer Resources page included with the Hub Site. Do not modify this row.
   body_approved	The body of the email if a volunteer has been approved
   body_denied	The body of the email if a volunteer has been denied

4. Add, remove, or modify the email templates, if necessary.
5. Save your changes, and then close the CSV file.
6. From the item page, click Update data.

   Tip:

   You may need to click the Show more button to see all options.

7. Follow the steps in the Update data wizard to load your data.

Extend the Point-in-Time Count survey

Note:

This workflow is optional and does not need to be completed to work with the solution.

The Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution includes a Point-in-Time Count survey that volunteers can use to conduct annual point-in-time counts. The questions included come from guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). However, you can extend this survey with your own questions. Review the existing questions first, and then adjust them as necessary to remain in compliance with your organizational policies. In addition, ensure that you secure the survey and underlying layers and only share the content with appropriate members of your organization.

Caution:

The Point-in-Time Count survey has many questions with calculated values that are required for the HUD report. If you modify the survey, it is recommended that you only add additional questions and do not make modifications to the existing values. Additional questions will also need to be translated into Spanish.

Add new questions to the survey

The Homelessness Point-in-Time Count solution includes a series of views created from feature layers provided with the solution. You can modify the Point-in-Time Count survey by first adding new fields to the feature layers and then configuring the surveys to use the newly created fields. The new fields must be exposed in the appropriate views.

To add new questions to the survey, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and search for the Point-in-TimeCount hosted feature layer.
2. Add a new field to a layer in the Point-in-TimeCount hosted feature layer.

Modify the Point-in-Time Count survey

Note:

This workflow is optional and does not need to be completed to work with the solution.

You can also make changes to content, such as removing questions or changing the survey formatting.

To modify the Point-in-Time Count survey, complete the following steps:

1. If necessary, start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. Click Point-in-Time Count to download the survey.
3. In the Download window, click Download and click OK.
4. Click Point-in-Time Count to open the survey.
5. Click XLSForm in the upper left.
6. Modify content on the survey and choices tabs to reflect your needs.

   Tip:

   Review the Modify surveys workflows to see how.

Add shelter names pick list

Organizations conducting point-in-time counts may want to add a list of selectable shelter names. Adding the shelter names as a pick list can help maintain data consistency and save time in the field.

To add your list of shelter names to a pick list, complete the following steps:

1. If necessary, start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. If necessary, download the Point-in-Time Count and click to open it.
3. Click XLSForm in the upper left.
4. At the bottom of the spreadsheet, click the choices tab.
5. In the list_name column, locate the shelter_name rows.
6. Replace the placeholder information in the name and label columns with information for your local area shelters, adding or deleting additional rows as necessary.

   Note:

   Ensure that the name field does not include any spaces.

7. Click the survey tab, and then replace the text in cell A4 with select_one shelter_name.

   Note:

   If you encounter a Not a valid XLSFORM Type warning, you must validate the form type. If the form type is valid and the warning still persists, choose Yes to continue.

8. In cell G4, type minimal, if necessary.
For more information about changing the appearance of the question type, see Appearance.
9. Save the spreadsheet, and then preview your changes in ArcGIS Survey123 Connect.
10. In the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
11. Click Publish Survey, and then click OK.

Note:

To view your changes in ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, on the Download Surveys page, click Download to download the updated survey.

Capture gender information

Note:

This workflow is optional and does not need to be completed to work with the solution.

For 2026, HUD is no longer asking for gender variables as part of the Point-in-Time collection process. The solution was updated to remove these variables. However, many communities may still want to capture these variables to guide their outreach efforts. If you want to continue to collect this information, complete the following workflows.

Update survey to collect gender

The Point-in-Time survey allows volunteers to collect interview data to support the count. Data fields for gender are already in the layer that supports this layer. You can expose the gender values in the survey so that the data can be collected.

1. If necessary, start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. If necessary, download the Point-in-Time Count survey and click to open it.
3. Click XLSForm in the upper left.
4. Scroll to row 54 for gender, and then in A54, change hidden to select_multiple gender
5. Optionally, scroll to cell J54 and type yes to make this question required.
6. Scroll to row 55 for gender_other, and then in A55, and then change hidden to text.
7. Optionally, scroll to cell J55 and type yes to make this question required.
8. Save the spreadsheet, and then preview your changes in ArcGIS Survey123 Connect.
9. In the left toolbar, click Publish to publish your changes.
10. Click Publish Survey, and then click OK.

Update HUD Report to report gender

The solution's HUD Report notebook generates a homelessness point-in-time count report that covers all areas required by HUD. If you want the report to show gender information, you can update the code to include it. To modify the notebook to include gender information, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the HUD Report notebook item.
2. From the item page, click Open notebook.
3. Scroll to line 12.

   Tip:

   If you do not see line numbers, click the View tab and choose Show Line Numbers.

4. Change remove_gender_demographics = True to remove_gender_demographics = False.
5. Click Save.

   Now, when you run the notebook, it will produce a report that includes gender demographics.

   Note:

   You can only run the notebook if you have collected data with the Point-in-Time Count survey .