The City of Atlanta Continuum of Care will conduct the 2018 annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count over the course of a week beginning Jan. 22, a press release from the mayor’s office says.

Beginning with nighttime counts from Jan. 22-23 followed by daytime counts on Jan. 23-28, the PIT Homeless Count will conduct surveys that collect demographic characteristics, homeless experiences and history and other vital information in order to identify the city’s most vulnerable groups.

The PIT Count is federally mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development  for all communities receiving federal funds through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants Program. According to the release, the homeless count is “crucial for meeting federal requirements to continue receiving funds for homeless services, attracting philanthropic investors and tracking the success of local efforts to end homelessness in Metro Atlanta.”

The count will focus on surveying unsheltered homeless individuals, providing demographic information, giving insight into their homeless history and assessing individual needs.

“I am encouraged knowing the major strides we have made to eradicate homelessness in the City of Atlanta,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. “I applaud the hard work of Partners for HOME, the Atlanta Continuum of Care, and the three hundred volunteers who will contribute their time and effort to our annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count. We look forward to all we will accomplish with the results of the 2018 census.”

Since 2013, the the Continuum of Care has seen a 75 percent decrease in the total number of chronically homeless individuals, along with a 61 percent decrease in unsheltered homeless individuals, according to the release. Additionally, the release said, in 2017, the Continuum of Care “effectively ended veteran homelessness in Atlanta.”

“We are eager to begin the 2018 Point-In-Time count,” Cathryn Marchman, executive director of Partners for HOME, a partner organization of the [Continuum of Care], said. “The work of Partners for HOME aligns with our city’s strong resolve to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Atlanta. We expect this year’s PIT Count data to confirm we are moving even closer towards this goal thanks to the outstanding collaborative efforts of our many providers, government partners and private sector stakeholders across the city.”