HCC In The News...

Home | Return to News Archives

January 12, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HCC’S COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP CENTER TO COORDINATE POINT-IN-TIME HOMELESS SURVEY

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

ANTHONY BALL, DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP CENTER
HOUSATONIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE
(203) 332-5170 OR (203) 545-7915

KAREN SCHEUSSLER, HUMAN SERVICES COUNCIL, NORWALK
(203) 849-1111

JEROME ROBERTS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, SWCT-HOPE SHELTER FOR THE HOMELESS, STAMFORD
(203) 348-2792, EXT. 306

HCC’S COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP CENTER TO COORDINATE POINT-IN-TIME HOMELESS SURVEY

BRIDGEPORT-The Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) of Housatonic Community College will coordinate a regional Point-in-Time Homeless Survey, Wednesday, January 26. The survey is part of a national survey being conducted at this time to record the demographics and assess the needs of the homeless population. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandates the yearly count.
For the first time, the Greater Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford-Greenwich Continua of Care, agencies providing services to the area’s homeless, will join in conducting the survey. A single, user-friendly survey form has been created for their use in collecting the data.

According to Jerome Roberts, regional director of Southwestern Connecticut Homeless Outreach Projects and Evaluation (SWCT-HOPE), this uniform survey tool and the one-day time frame will enable service providers to obtain an unduplicated count of the homeless in the region. He noted that in past weeklong surveys, it was possible that receivers of services could be counted more than once. Roberts said that the regional approach would begin to give a clearer picture of what homelessness really looks like in lower Fairfield County.

In addition to counting those who use shelter/housing services offered by the participating agencies, volunteers will also seek to identify the unsheltered (street) homeless population. Because the Point-in-Time count helps determine the funding levels for HUD-sponsored programs, an accurate tally is vital to area service providers in order to obtain adequate federal support to meet their clients’ needs. Locally administered services and programs range from providing temporary emergency shelter and job training to providing health and legal services.

Volunteers from approximately 70 agencies in the greater Bridgeport service area will participate in the effort. Students enrolled in HCC’s Human Services Program will aid the agencies by distributing and collecting the survey forms. They will also assist with the rapid entry of survey data into the statewide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to keep information current and readily available to service providers.
A training session for volunteers will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 9:30a.m. – Noon in Room C232 on the Housatonic campus, 900 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport.

Housatonic’s Partnership Center, which operates under a HUD grant, focuses on
creating stronger, healthier neighborhoods in Bridgeport’s inner city through the active participation of HCC’s faculty, staff and students in community outreach projects. During the 2004-2005 academic year, COPC designed and implemented a training program for Residential Peer Support Aides. Eighteen formerly homeless women who now live in transitional shelters or supported housing have been trained to act as peer supports for other consumers of homeless services.

In addition, the Partnership Center has become the lead agency to implement HMIS throughout southwestern Connecticut. This system, funded under a separate HUD grant, allows providers of homeless services to track client outcomes, expedite referrals, and facilitate transitioning to mainstream benefits such as Social Security Disability and Medicaid. Since October 2004, COPC has conducted weekly training sessions for providers of homeless services in the use of the system.