COCONINO COUNTY — The 2026 Point-in-Time Count is almost upon us, and my amazing team of fellow organizers and community partners wanted to pass along a little bit of information regarding what we know so far and what to expect going forward!
If you are unfamiliar with the Point-in-Time Count, it is a survey conducted across the nation that aims to survey people experiencing homelessness and ask them where they were staying on one particular night during the week of the survey (whether that be a shelter, Safe Haven, in a place not meant for habitation, etc.).
One of the major goals of conducting the PIT Count each year is to help secure funding for services that will assist our unhoused neighbors, whether that be housing programs, additional shelter space, outreach programs for those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, or even homelessness prevention programs.
The PIT Count also serves to inform HUD and our elected officials on the effectiveness of policies and programs meant to combat homelessness. As I’m sure we all know, this has been a challenging year for our homeless and housing insecure neighbors, and we want to ensure that they are not being left in the lurch and that they are being connected with programs that will help them achieve stability, and that these programs are receiving the appropriate funding to continue to serve our community.
If you have any questions, concerns, or want to contribute to the PIT Count in some way (whether it be helping organize, providing incentives or donations, providing assistance with training, or any other contribution that you feel may be beneficial), we highly encourage you to reach out to Taylor Cochran at tcochran@cc-az.org and/or Kaitlin Rieg at kaitlin@flagshelter.org. If you are interested in volunteering as a surveyor, keep an eye out for any further communications with more info, which should be coming soon!