Square One Community will again in 2024 be organizing and operating the Moose Jaw Point in Time Count on Oct. 1. A PiT count is a community survey conducted by volunteers who actively engage with the unhoused and housing-insecure community in the city. They gather data from survey participants on their housing status and specific information surrounding their experiences and barriers faced while being houseless.
This collected data is then used to quantify the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in the city. This data can then be used by government and community organizations to plan and make funding pitches for programming based on the scope of the issue presented in the snapshot in time the PiT count represents.
Moose Jaw’s 2024 PiT count on Oct. 1 will be conducted simultaneously with Regina and Saskatchewan’s other designated Rural and Remote Communities over 24 hours.
While the PiT count in 2023 was operated as a stand-alone exercise by Square One Community, this year they are collaborating with the John Howard Society to form the decision-driving committee. This committee is made up of experts in the field of social housing and housing insecurity who are looking to get a snapshot of homelessness in Moose Jaw as accurately as possible through a variety of means.
This years PiT count will be looking at a multi-pronged approach to gathering the required data that goes beyond teams of volunteers canvassing sectors of the city.
This year a magnet event will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at St. Aidan’s Anglican Church at 124-1st Ave. NE. This event will be offering a variety of services to those participating in the survey including a meal, an ID clinic with tax assistance, hepatitis C testing and hygiene kits.
Della Ferguson, Square One board member and PiT count committee member stated, “It is so important to honour people’s participation by giving something back.”
Crystal Peterson of the John Howard Society added, “People will be leaving the magnet event stronger than they came in.”
All data collected during the 2024 PiT count is kept confidential, using identifiers of participants only to prevent the duplication of results.
With a notable increase in people experiencing homelessness in the city, the results this year are particularly important to support the need for increased supports for vulnerable people. Cathy Fieldgate, Square One Community’s PiT Count co-ordinator this year, has said a successful event requires volunteers to help conduct the survey.
“Last year we had about 70 volunteers to make this happen, and we will need the same again this year.”
The 2024 PiT count is looking for volunteers for a variety of roles including being on a mobile team surveying members in the community, operating at stationary physical locations or helping run the magnet event.
If you are interested in volunteering, you can contact Cathy Fieldgate at mjpitcount@gmail.com or by phone to Square One Community at 306-631-9340.
