On one day each January, communities across the country are engaged in a united effort: a de facto census of people who are living on the streets, in shelters or transitional housing on a single day in January, called the Point in Time Count, or PIT Count.
This year’s count takes place against a backdrop both old and new: local officials at both the city and county levels have approved significant investment in building future affordable housing.
At the same time, the past year has seen the closure of parks that once held some of Tucson’s largest homeless encampments; bans on camping in washes and parks that critics say leave people with few places to go; and the launch of a new city safety initiative that includes more targeted enforcement of unhoused communities…