Point in Time Count

Point in Time Count of Cape and Islands Homeless

The annual Point in Time Count of the Cape and Islands homeless is required by the Continuum of Care (CoC) Grant Program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The Cape and Islands Regional Network on Homelessness conducts the annual Point in Time Count that counts the number of people experiencing homelessness in emergency shelters, transitional housing, on the street, in cars, abandoned buildings, and in other places not meant for human habitation. Counts are conducted annually in every community and do not count households living in motels nor those that are doubled-up and living with family and friends.

2018 Annual Point in Time Results

The Cape and Islands Regional Network on Homelessness 2018 findings from the Annual Point in Time count which took place on January 30, 2018, on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket indicate that the total number of homeless persons (adults and children, sheltered and unsheltered) on the night of the count was 358, an increase of 34 persons from the 2017 count. While the number of unsheltered individuals, families in shelter, and individuals in transitional housing remained at the same levels as recorded during the 2017 PIT Count, the number of individuals in shelter increased by 34 from the previous count. Subfreezing temperatures on the night of the nights of January 29 and 30 may have motivated unsheltered homeless individuals to “come in” from their usual sleeping locations to seek indoor accommodations for the night. On January 30, 2018, 31 people were sheltered in motels paid for by charitable non-profit organizations.