La Plata, January 20, 2017 –The Charles County Public Library (CCPL) is partnering with Lifestyles, Inc. as well as community volunteers as they conduct the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Homeless Survey on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. The 2017 Homeless Survey will identify the number of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals across the Charles County region.
“Our partnership with Lifestyles of Maryland for the 2017 Point-in-Time Homeless Survey, is very much in line with our strategic plan. One of our goals is to “position the library as an indispensable community asset,” said Janet Salazar, Executive Director, CCPL. “Early on we determined that by increasing our community partnerships, we can make a real difference in the lives of residents in our community. The library will open up our meeting rooms for volunteers to meet with people during the event and at the West branch, individuals will have a chance to take a shower if needed.”
How does it work? On January 25, Lifestyles volunteers will conduct brief, conversational surveys from noon to 7:30pm with individuals who come into either the Waldorf West, La Plata, or Potomac branches of the library. For more information, call CCPL at (301) 934.3001 x132 or Lifestyles, Inc. at (301) 609.9900.
Point-in-time is an unduplicated count of persons experiencing homelessness in both unsheltered and sheltered (in a homeless program) places on a single night. The PIT Count allows local communities and state policy makers to understand current problems of homelessness, target limited funding to appropriate housing and services, and track progress. The annual Homeless Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the local Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process.
The 2017 Count will reinforce the progress being made as a result of the collaborative efforts of local service agencies with support from the public library, and provide specific demographic information needed to end chronic homelessness and continue to improve our region’s homeless response system.
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About Charles County Public Library
Charles County Library System has four physical buildings. The Waldorf West and P.B. Brown Memorial branches are both located in Waldorf. The La Plata branch serves as the headquarters and in located in the town of La Plata. The western side of the county is served by the Potomac Branch located in Ruth B. Swann Park. A mobile library unit will be launching in the spring of 2017.