United Way launches weeklong Point In Time homelessness survey in Helena

United Way of the Lewis and Clark area began its annual Point In Time survey Thursday, launching a weeklong effort to measure how many people in Lewis and Clark County are staying in shelters, temporary housing or living unsheltered. The count is intended to produce the snapshot officials and service providers use to allocate resources and seek state and federal support.

Organizers staffed four evening stations Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at God’s Love, Lewis and Clark Library, Good Samaritan and St. Paul’s Church. Volunteers offered warm food, clothing and other supplies as thank-you giveaways to encourage participation and to meet immediate winter needs. Volunteers also conducted field outreach; counters record responses on an app using a 5-minute, 25-question voluntary survey that respondents may decline to answer.

Last year’s local figures provide a baseline for comparison: United Way counted 143 unsheltered people in Lewis and Clark County, and Montana’s statewide PIT recorded 2,263 individuals, an increase of 255 from the prior year. United Way also reported an unofficial count of more than 40 people using cars or campers as residences. Final results from this weeklong survey will not be released for several months.

The mechanics of Helena’s count differ from some other jurisdictions that follow a single-night HUD model. Some cities, including Rapid City, typically conduct the PIT count on the last Tuesday of January as a one-night tally. Helena’s weeklong approach with staffed sites and outreach teams aims to broaden coverage and reduce undercounting, but it also changes scheduling and data-collection logistics that officials must reconcile when comparing year-to-year numbers.

Point In Time data have concrete budgetary implications. Counts compiled by local agencies feed into state and federal grant formulas that fund homeless services, shelter operations and transitional housing. For context, other states and municipalities use PIT results to determine annual grant levels; for example, some neighboring jurisdictions have cited mid-six-figure average federal grant totals for homeless-service programs. Accurate local counts help Lewis and Clark County and Helena service providers strengthen funding requests and plan winter operations.

Volunteers were singled out by United Way staff as central to the effort. “Hey, we appreciate your interacting with us, and it's those volunteers that do that interaction, so they are the critical piece of this process,” said Jeff Buscher, United Way community impact coordinator. Shelter operators also note the limits of shelter models for some people; Lysa Allison, executive director of Cornerstone Rescue Mission in Rapid City, said, “They kind of like the freedom. You need to be in at 10 p.m., there’s a curfew, and certain rules you have to follow. That may not be the lifestyle some people want to lead.” She added that charities remain “always in need of clothing of all types and sizes, men’s clothing, hats, gloves, scarves, for women too.”

For Helena residents, the count is both a measure of need and a tool for action: numbers from this survey will shape where funding and services flow in coming months, and donations, volunteer time and local policy responses will determine how the community addresses winter homelessness until results are published.