Jessica Lachey
Once a year, on a night in January, Rhode Island volunteers, service providers, and outreach workers bundle up and come together to shed light on the reality of homelessness. The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a national initiative led by SAMHSA, is a coordinated effort to collect data on individuals and families experiencing homelessness. This data plays a critical role in shaping public understanding, informing funding decisions, and guiding policies aimed at addressing homelessness year-round.
With below freezing temperatures and 24 inches of snow on the ground, this year posed significant challenges to reaching unhoused individuals. Our group of four met up around 6:30 p.m. to plan the route, then headed out to begin the survey. We began with individuals we knew were not interested in checking into the emergency shelter, giving those who were, time to get there.
The first site was a ¼ mile into the woods. Climbing up the hill, knee deep in snow it was hard to imagine spending an entire night outside in these conditions. The first two tents were vacant, but the third had a couple staying in there. They were willing to complete the survey, siting how they came about their circumstances because of being disabled and unable to work. They were eager for help to qualify for disability benefits to hopefully be able leave the encampment.
We continued throughout the night, visiting different encampments, documenting each individual’s circumstances. What stood out most was how familiar the people we met were with our team. Thrive’s staff use evidence-based, person-centered recovery practices, and that consistency clearly shows in the trust that’s been built.
After completing two hours of field surveying, the team visited the West Warwick emergency shelter, which was providing services to over 40 unhoused individuals during frigid weather conditions. Results from the survey will be collected, analyzed and released to the public in April. The results will give us a benchmark of where we are, how we compare to last year, any progress that has been made, and what we need to continue to do for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Thrive Behavioral Health continues to provide services for over 100 unhoused individuals in Kent County as well as through the state wide Housing First RI program based in Providence.