Maricopa County staff join annual Point‑in‑Time count, survey six people in Agua Fria Wash

Maricopa County staff volunteered before sunrise to participate in the Maricopa Association of Governments' annual Point‑in‑Time (PIT) homelessness count and surveyed six people in the Agua Fria River Wash quadrant, county staff said.

"Maricopa County employees were up before sunrise to volunteer for the Maricopa Association of Government's point in time homelessness count," a Maricopa County staff member said as teams prepared to disperse. "This is a 1, day a year event, that is mandated by the federal government to actually go out there and actually go and physically count those, that are living on the streets that are experiencing homelessness."

Volunteers received safety briefings and then drove to assigned quadrants. A volunteer recorded that the team used a GIS app to capture survey responses and demographic information, including questions about health and services needed to help end an individual's homelessness. "The survey is recorded on this GIS app," one volunteer said. Another team member asked people how long they had been experiencing homelessness, prompting responses measured in "days, weeks, months, or years."

The team assigned to the Agua Fria Wash surveyed six people, the county staff member said. One volunteer described seeing people sheltering in places "that aren't habitable," adding, "there's real humans that are they're finding somewhere to be in places that aren't habitable."

County staff and volunteers said the data collected at each geographic location is intended to support advocacy for more funding and resources, including shelters, affordable housing and employment assistance. "The data collected from each geographical location can then be used to advocate for more funding for resources, like homeless shelters, affordable housing, job assistance, and other homeless services," a staff member said.

Organizers emphasized that the PIT count is one piece of information used by planners and service providers. "To do the work that we're doing today where where we're, you know, providing resources for people experiencing street homelessness and gathering information so that we can continue to do that work in a bigger way, that means a lot. It's really important work that we're doing today," a volunteer said.

No formal policy decisions or votes were recorded during this field activity. The PIT count is an annual, federally mandated data collection carried out locally by jurisdictions and regional associations such as the Maricopa Association of Governments.