Every year in Austin toward the end of January, hundreds of volunteers come together in the early hours of the morning to canvass Travis County and survey individuals and families experiencing homelessness. One of our ESL teachers Amy Knop-Narbutis has been volunteering for this effort for the past six years and is now leading a team! As members of the Casa Marianella community, we wanted to share with you another great opportunity to support people in need of shelter:
2017 Point-in-Time Count!
Saturday, January 28th, 2017
Coordinated by ECHO
About Point-in-Time Counts: The National Point-in-Time Count of People Experiencing Homelessness (PIT) is an annual count that takes place on one day at the end of January and that is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for communities across the country to receive funding. During the last 10 days of January, thousands of volunteers canvass communities, as well as count and survey individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Service providers nationwide choose one day during the 10-day period to count people in their communities who are living on the street and in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or domestic violence shelters.
Testimony: “What keeps me coming back to volunteer for the Point-in-Time Count year after year is the same draw that brought me to Casa Marianella – the opportunity to meet people from my community I might otherwise never encounter, and have meaningful interactions where we can connect and learn from each other!”
In Travis County, the local nonprofit ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition) will be coordinating this event, which will be on the morning of Saturday, January 28, 2017. Read coverage of past years in the Austin Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman.
Sign up to volunteer here! http://austinecho.org/2017-point-in-time-count-general-volunteer-registration/
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Meet the author of this post: Our very own ESL volunteer and guest blogger Amy Knop-Narbutis. Amy has also just completed Leadership Austin’s Emerge program! Learn more about the program here: http://leadershipaustin.org
This is awesome! Also, Amy rocks!