Frigid weather and a COVID-19 pandemic are expected to create challenges in today’s Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing homeless in North Dakota.

The North Dakota Continuum of Care is heading up the count, required across the nation beginning today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to obtain numbers of the sheltered homeless. A count of people who are unsheltered is required only in odd-numbered years, but North Dakota does that count annually as well.

Each count is planned, coordinated and carried out locally. Mac McLeod, executive director of the Minot Area Homeless Coalition and Region 2 lead in Minot for the count, said a team of volunteers will be going out across the state to seek out the homeless.

“We know right now numbers are going to be completely down because of the coronavirus and now because of the extreme cold weather. I anticipate there’s not going to be a correct count,” he said Tuesday. “We are going to try to do the best count we can. We are going to try to find those we know are homeless.”

Organizations that work with the homeless are being asked to help in providing information regarding homeless individuals they are serving so they don’t get missed in the count.

North Dakota has always dealt with cold weather during the annual winter count, and now the pandemic is affecting the count process across the country.

Shawnel Willer, Continuum of Care coordinator for North Dakota, said finding the homeless will be more difficult because they may not be in usual places. Places such as stores or emergency rooms where they may have gone to get out of the cold may be closed to them due to pandemic-related operational changes. The homeless may be doubled up, sleeping on someone’s couch, rather than seeking shelter in a public area or outdoors because of the virus.

As in the past, there will be reliance on interviews with those individuals who present to agencies, Willer said. The period of the count also has been extended from one week to two, extending from today. That gives more time to locate individuals, but it can make it more difficult for individuals without a regular shelter to remember where they stayed on Jan. 27, the date of the snapshot in time, she said.

“I know HUD realizes it’s a difficult year for everybody with the pandemic. Some Continuum of Cares have asked for an exemption this year, and depending on their situation, they have been granted that exemption. But in North Dakota, we did not ask for that exemption so we are continuing forward with the normal count.”

Volunteers engaged in the count are required to wear personal protection equipment and follow other COVID-19 mitigation measures based on HUD guidance.

“For the most part, North Dakota isn’t doing anything extremely different. We are taking those extra precautions and there will be less volunteers going out to conduct the count this year,” Willer said.

Data collected during the Point-in-Time Count is used to measure homelessness at a local, state and national level.

“The information helps to identify strengths and service gaps, increase public awareness, measure progress and assist local entities with system planning and responses,” said Dave Flohr, North Dakota Housing Finance Agency executive director, in a news release announcing the count. “To complete the count requires strong regional engagement that is coordinated by an area lead who works with volunteers to collect clean and current data from homeless service providers while law enforcement, healthcare and other providers work to identify persons who are unsheltered.”

The count helps determine allocation of federal funding to combat homelessness. North Dakota also is working toward using the data to better guide service delivery across the state, although getting services to rural areas is challenging, Willer said.

HUD’s Continuum of Care Program provides funding to support efforts to end homelessness, promotes access to and effective utilization of programs and optimizes the self-sufficiency of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The state Housing Finance Agency acts as the collaborative applicant for the state’s Continuum of Care, whose geographic area encompasses all of North Dakota, including the state’s five federally recognized tribes.