Tomorrow (Jan. 25, 2022), the South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium, an affiliate of South Dakota Housing Development Authority, will conduct its annual statewide Point-In-Time (PIT) homeless count.
The Consortium was created in 2001 to help unify the people who provide services to the homeless. Throughout the years, the group has been able to identify gaps and create programs and services making it easier for people to live it on their own.
To be effective, the Consortium divides the state into five areas. There are coordinators in each area who will be working with agencies and volunteers to conduct the 2022 PIT count. Since it began in 2001, the Consortium has received federal funding totaling over $24 million to provide development, operations and supportive services to a variety of homeless programs across the state.
• Rapid City & Region 1; Bennett, Butte, Corson, Custer, Dewey, Fall River, Jackson, Haakon, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Pennington, Perkins, Ziebach, Oglala Lakota counties; Christina Capobianco – christina.capobianco@voanr.org, Volunteers of America-Northern Rockies (VOA-NR), or 605-341-8336
• Region 2; Beadle, Brown, Campbell, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Marshall, McPherson, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Walworth counties; Sandy Leiseth – sandy@growsd.org, Grow South Dakota, or 605-698-7654
• Region 3; Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Lyman, Mellette, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Union, Yankton, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Jones counties; Darci Bultje – dbultje@rocsinc.org, Rural Office Community Services, (ROCS), or 605-487-7634
• Region 4; Minnehaha, Grant, Deuel, Codington, Hamlin, Clark, Kingsbury, Brookings, Miner, Lake, Lincoln, Moody, McCook, Turner counties; Wendy Barrett – wbarrett@interlakescap.com, Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership (ICAP), 605-692-6391 ext. 24
• Sioux Falls; Suzy Smith – ssmith@augie.edu, Augustana Research Institute, or 605-274-5010
Information from the annual PIT homeless count is used to measure homelessness on local, state and national levels. PIT count data helps policy makers and communities measure progress, identify strengths and gaps in services, increases public awareness of homelessness and enhances system planning and responses. The PIT count is not a perfect instrument but does provide valuable information as to the scope of homelessness, including demonstrating the unmet need.
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