100% Otero announces annual Point in Time count results
Who are the homeless? Government entities offer many complicated definitions. Simply put, people experiencing homelessness lack stable, safe, functional housing. 100% Otero, the City of Alamogordo, and Otero County recently counted people experiencing homelessness in Otero County.
The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is the annual process of counting individuals and families experiencing homelessness on a single night in January as outlined and defined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD).
There are three parts to the PIT Count. The Sheltered count includes individuals who are in a temporary shelter such as the COPE or Runners’ Refuge shelters. Unsheltered individuals have no habitable place to sleep so use a car, abandoned building or the outdoors. The Housing Inventory Count measures the number of affordable housing options available in a community. Together, these figures paint a complete picture of homelessness, illustrate the need for services, and demonstrate the capacity to provide services.
Conducting PIT counts annually provides better information for resource and service providers, government entities, and residents of New Mexico. These entities can then work together to develop effective and solution-based interventions addressing homelessness.
100% Otero counted individuals who were Unsheltered on January 30, 2023. This information is useful for service planning, demonstrating resource needs, raising public awareness, measuring and identifying needs of hard to serve populations, and measuring performance in eliminating homelessness, particularly chronic homelessness.
From Jan. 31 through Feb. 3 volunteer teams spread throughout the county in Alamogordo, Tularosa, Chaparral, La Luz, Dog Canyon, and desert locations to contact homeless individuals.
Survey data was reported to the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, which reports statewide data to HUD. The Coalition will compile information collected throughout the state and prepare a 2023 statewide report.
In Otero County, 49 individuals were identified as being unsheltered on the night of Jan. 30, 2023. Other individuals who are experiencing homelessness but who had a place to stay on that night included 11 adults and three children staying in the COPE shelter and three adults at the Runner’s Refuge shelter.
In addition to these counts, school districts report children who are considered homeless. Schools define homelessness using the McKinney-Vento Act which is more broad than the HUD definition. It includes children “living in emergency shelters, motels, hotels, trailer parks, cars, parks, public spaces, or abandoned buildings, and those sharing the housing of other persons…” Alamogordo Public Schools reported 157 homeless students in February 2023. Cloudcroft and Tularosa Municipal Schools each reported two homeless students in April 2023. The lack of a safe place to live is an Adverse Childhood Experience and may contribute to subsequent lifelong health and employment issues.
The full report of 2023 statewide data will be available at https://www.nmceh.org/pitreports. This link can also be used to view the 2021 and 2022 reports.
While the PIT Count is currently the most widely used way to count people experiencing homelessness, it is not an exact count and has a margin of error causing under-representation of the population. Numbers are affected by the level of community engagement, methodology, weather, incorrect submissions, data being largely self-reported, etc. PIT report numbers should be taken to indicate trends rather than exact, unwavering figures.
There is no single cause for homelessness. Several reasons are often cited. There is a lack of affordable housing. Without housing options, people face eviction, instability, and homelessness. Low-income households often do not earn enough to pay for food, clothing, transportation, and a place to call home. Health and homelessness are often linked. Health problems can cause a person’s homelessness as well as be exacerbated by the experience. Many survivors of domestic violence become homeless when leaving an abusive relationship.
The question that comes to mind then is, “What do we do?” or “Now what?” The answer involves recognition that there is a homeless problem in Otero County. Addressing homelessness requires participation by government officials, local and regional agencies, as well as not-for-profit organizations.
In collaboration with other groups, 100% Otero will continue to examine the issues of housing availability, affordability, and the needs of unsheltered individuals and families. 100% Otero wants every child to live a life characterized by safety, good health and happiness, with a future of productivity and contribution. If you have ideas and would like to serve on our Housing Team, please contact us at weavingitalltogether@100otero.org.
The full 100% Otero PIT report can be viewed at https://www.100nm.org/otero/2023-pit-report/.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: 100% Otero announces annual Point in Time count results
