Bismarck Health Officials To Conduct An Overnight Sweep

Does every one of us know of our population of homeless here in Bismarck and Mandan?

I am certainly unaware - I am very impressed with the ambitious plan Members of the Missouri Valley Coalition for Homeless People and community volunteers will be conducting. According to a press release from Missouri Valley Coalition For Homeless People and Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health - Starting this Wednesday night, an effort is being made to seek and find homeless people and provide them with some valuable information that could save their lives.

You can be a part of this

"Members of the Missouri Valley Coalition for Homeless People and community volunteers will be conducting the 2024 Unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) Count for Region VII in North Dakota. This count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under its Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. The CoC program provides funding for homeless housing and service programs and PIT Count data measures progress at local and national levels in preventing and ending homelessness. On the night of January 24, 2024, community outreach teams will cavass the community between 10 PM and 4 AM to locate individuals experiencing homelessness. Surveys will be conducted, gathering basic demographic information and referrals will be offered to community resources. This count will provide a “snapshot” of the number of people experiencing homelessness in the community. Information gathered from the surveys will help raise awareness of the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness. The lead point of contact for the 2024 Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count for Region VII is Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health Director, Renae Moch. “Even though the annual PIT Count cannot provide an exact number of individuals experiencing homelessness in our community, outreach efforts like this are important to capture the most complete picture possible to best assess the amount of need in our community,” said Moch. “We are not only gathering data, the community outreach efforts will also connect individuals experiencing homelessness with resources in the community.” Mark Heinert, President of Missouri Valley Coalition for Homeless People, emphasizes the importance of volunteers, saying, "We could not complete the annual Point-in-Time Count without the help of volunteers. Local non-profit staff and community volunteers are vital to the successful completion of the annual Point-in-Time Count."

***** If you are interested in volunteering for the 2024 Unsheltered Point in Time Count, please sign up here: volunteersignup.org/7CQEM. Data collected from the 2024 Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count will be shared at a later date"