Use Homelessness Point-in-Time Count

Homelessness Point-in-Time Count delivers a set of capabilities that help you conduct point-in-time counts, visualize the extent of homelessness, and share homelessness reports with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In this topic, you will learn how to use the solution by assuming the role of a user and performing the following workflows.

Note:

Use your organization's data or configured apps to follow these workflows.

Manage assignment areas

You will assume the role of the point-in-time count coordinator who is responsible for ensuring that all areas in your community are canvassed and for managing volunteers. Your initial responsibilities include creating deployment sites where volunteers will report to and volunteer assignment areas. After you create these areas, volunteers will have the ability to choose which area they wish to work in.

To create a deployment site and an assignment area, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Manager app.
2. From the item page, click View.
3. Click on the Sites and Areas tab at the top of the app.
4. In the Editor panel, click Deployment Sites.

   The Create features pane opens.

5. Search for the deployment site on the map, and the click to place the feature.
6. Complete the feature details and click Create. Repeat these steps to add additional deployment sites.
7. In the Editor panel, click Assignment Areas.
8. Click the Draw a polygon tool and draw a new assignment area on the map.
9. Complete the feature details including the Volunteers Needed and click Create.
10. Repeat the process for additional assignment areas to cover your community.

Note:

Now that areas have been created, volunteers will have the ability to choose which area they wish to work in.

Complete the volunteer application

Organizations cultivate a volunteer workforce to help canvass their community and conduct the homelessness point-in-time count. Community members interested in joining the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count program first need to complete a volunteer application and receive approval before they can assist with conducting the count.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of a community member who is interested in assisting in your community’s Homelessness Point-in-Time Count program.

1. In a browser, go to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site.
2. Scroll to the Volunteer Now! section. Read the topics as you scroll through the site.

   If a community member does not have a community account or is not signed in to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site, they will see the option to create an account or sign in with an existing account. If the community member is already signed in to site, they will see the Complete Application Form button. In the following steps, a community member has already created an account and is signed in to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site.

   Tip:

   If you want to practice the full volunteer experience, copy the Hub site URL and sign out of your account. Then, in a different browser, browse to the Hub site and click to create a new account.

3. Click Complete Application Form.
4. Complete the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application form to express interest in becoming a volunteer.
   The application will be reviewed by the point-in-time count coordinator. After the application has been approved, the volunteer can will have access to learning resources and the point-in-time count survey.
5. Close the browser tab used for the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Application and return to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site.

Manage volunteers

You will now reassume the role of the point-in-time count coordinator who is responsible for ensuring that all areas in your community are canvassed. You are also responsible for managing volunteers.

To review and approve a volunteer and then assign the volunteer to an area, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Manager.
2. From the item page, click View.
3. Click the Volunteers tab at the top of the app.
4. Click a volunteer in the list.
5. In the panel on the right, change the status to Approved and choose an assignment area.
6. Optionally, choose a shift and add any check-in notes for deployment site staff.
7. Click Assign.

Note:

Note how the label on the map for the Volunteers Needed will decrease as you assign volunteers to each area. You can adjust the filters as appropriate to look at already approved volunteers or search by name.

8. In the upper right, click the Notify tab.
9. Click Run to notify volunteers they have been approved.

Volunteers receive an email notifying them that they have been approved. The email also includes information about their deployment area and their assignment area, and it provides a link to volunteer resources. This process may take a few minutes to complete.

Note:

If you submitted your volunteer application in the previous workflow while you were signed in with a Creator account, you will not receive this email.

Email point-in-time count volunteers

Approved volunteers have already received an automated email with information about their deployment site and assignment area. The email also points them to volunteer resources. In this workflow, continuing your role as a point-in-time coordinator, you will follow up with your approved volunteers to remind them to review these resources and verify that they have access to the point-in-time count survey.

To send a follow-up email, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and click the Apps button in the header of the site.
2. Click Hub.
3. On the left, click Groups.
4. Next to Approved Point-in-Time Volunteers, click Manage.
5. Click Members.
6. Click Send message.
7. Type a subject and your message.

   Note:

   To include a URL that doesn't have a arcgis.com or esri.com domain, contact your Hub administrator to register the domain for the URL you want to use. If the domain isn't registered, the email will not send.

8. Click Send message.

   Messages are sent from arcgis.com to the email address associated with the volunteer's user profile.

Check volunteers in and out

Next, you will assume the role of staff in charge of checking in volunteers at a deployment site. This step is important because it gives the point-in-time count coordinator insight into whether assignment areas are adequately staffed. The check-in process also ensures volunteers receive the necessary resources and supplies to distribute to people experiencing homelessness. To check in a volunteer, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Check in dashboard.
2. Click Assignment area at the top of the app and select your assignment area.
3. Locate the volunteer in the list and click the pencil icon to the right .

Note:

You can also click Find Volunteer to search for a volunteer by name.

4. An Update attributes window opens. Change the Checked in status to Yes to check in the volunteer.
5. Click Save.
When volunteers return, you should repeat a similar process to check them out of their duties. This will help ensure they have safely returned and you can be debriefed on any issues they found during their shift.

Conduct point-in-time count

Now you will assume the role of a volunteer who is conducting an interview for a homelessness point-in-time count.

To conduct a point-in-time count, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Homelessness Point-in-Time Count site and sign in, if necessary.
2. At the top of the app, click the Volunteer Resources tab, and then follow the instructions to download ArcGIS Survey123 on your device to access the Point-in-Time Count survey.

   If you followed the configuration steps, the volunteer would receive an email guiding them to go to the Volunteer Resources page.

3. Open Survey123 and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
4. At the upper right, tap your avatar and tap Download Surveys.
5. Search for Point-in-Time Count and tap the Download button.
6. Tap the back arrow to return to the list of downloaded surveys, and then tap Point-in-Time Count to open the survey.
7. In the Point-in-Time Count survey, provide the following information:

   Note:

   Some questions are hidden and will only appear based upon the answer from a previous question.

   Question	Response
   Is the person in a shelter?	Select Yes
   What is the name of the shelter/program?	Select the name of the shelter or program.
   What is the type of shelter/program?	Select Emergency Shelter.
   Are you able to survey this person?	Select Yes
   Can I have 10 minutes of your time?	Select Yes
   Did another volunteer or survey worker already ask you questions about where you are staying tonight?	Select No
   Including yourself (Person 1), how many adults are there in your (their) household, who are sleeping in the same location tonight?	Type 1
   How many children <18 are there in your (their) household, who are sleeping in the same location tonight?	Type 2

8. Proceed with the interview by filling in the following questions.
   • For all of the Household Questions text boxes, enter any values as if you were conducting the interview.
   • For Location, type an address in the search box and press Enter.
9. Click Submit.

   While using the Survey123 mobile app, you can use your current location from your mobile device GPS.

   Tip:

   Use the indicator button to progress to the next set of questions for each household member. For example, when 3 household members exist the indicator will display 1 of 3, tapping the indicator button will progress the survey to the same set of questions for the next household member.

Monitor progress

Next, you will assume the role of the point-in-time coordinator again. Now that volunteers have been checked-in and have started the count, you will must ensure that all assignment areas are covered. To monitor progress, complete the following steps:

1. Verify you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Manager app.
2. From the item page, click View.
3. Click the Check ins tab.
4. Explore the various metrics to ensure all assignment areas have volunteers that are checked in.
5. Click the Counts tab.
6. Explore the results collected by volunteers.

Note:

In the list of surveys collected, you can look at the length of time a survey was taken to help with quality control to ensure surveys are taking the appropriate amount of time, or where some volunteers may be falling behind due to longer interviews.

Visualize point-in-time data

The Point-in-Time Count Dashboard app allows health and human service agency directors to visualize point-in-time count results so they can better understand the extent of homelessness in the community. Because the dashboard data represents vulnerable populations, access to this dashboard should be given cautiously. The solution includes the Point-in-Time Dashboard group, which was designed with this purpose in mind.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of a director at a health and human service agency Continuum of Care who wants to see the point-in-time count results in real time. To view the dashboard, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Point-in-Time Count Dashboard.
2. From the item page, click Open dashboard.
3. Zoom around on the map to note how the heat map changes based upon the extent of the map.

   All information entered in the Point-in-Time Count survey automatically appears in this dashboard when submitted.

4. To the left of the app, click the arrow to expand the pane to filter.
5. Explore the various filters available.
6. Close the dashboard when done.

Note:

If you would like to share the data to wider audiences, follow the appropriate steps in de-identifying the count data when sharing.

Generate HUD Report

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has specific guidelines that govern how Continuums of Care must report the results of their point-in-time count. The Homelessness Point in Time Count solution accounts for these requirements in the data schema and provides a tool that generates a Microsoft Excel workbook in the format required by HUD. In this workflow, you will assume the role of the point-in-time coordinator who needs to generate the report. To generate the report, complete the following steps:

Note:

To run an ArcGIS Notebooks notebook and complete the following steps, you must be assigned an Administrator role or a custom role that includes the privilege to create and edit notebooks.

1. In a browser, go to your content in your ArcGIS organization and find the HUD Report Notebook included with the solution.
2. Open the item page click Open Notebook.
3. To run the notebook, follow the instructions that appear at the top of the notebook..
4. After the notebook runs, click the link to the report and download the spreadsheet.

   The report summarizes all the individual point-in-time surveys that were conducted during the count, compiled with metrics that can then be shared with HUD. Each HUD report is given a date time stamp and is stored in your ArcGIS organization for future reference.

   Caution:

   The Point-in-Time Count survey has many questions with calculated values that are needed 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.