Volunteers and organizers with the 2018 Joint Point-in-Time (PiT) Count and Registry Week gathered at Whitby Public Library today to prepare for the magnet events that will happen during Registry Week from April 16 to 20. The purpose of Registry Week is to get an accurate snapshot of the extent of local homelessness.

 “We’re holding seven magnet events,” explains Point-in-Time Project Coordinator Anika Mifsud, “to draw people who are experiencing hidden homeless in Durham Region to come to us. We will have free food at each event, and some will offer haircuts, dental care, foot care and back- and neck-massages. Attendees will have a chance to complete the Point-in-Time survey plus an additional housing and health survey. For an accurate picture of homelessness in our community, we need to engage this often overlooked population. This is a new initiative for us, broadening the scope of the work we did last year, and it’s one we’re very excited about.”

Doreen Hume McKenna, Point-in-Time Volunteer Coordinator, explains “We partnered with community organizations on every aspect of the PiT Count and Registry Week events, including the training today.” Jason Moniz, Food Service Manager at Cornerstone Community Association says, “Cornerstone’s Community Kitchen provided the catering for this event. We are a teaching kitchen that instructs recently homeless and at-risk individuals on food preparation skills.”

For more information on Point-in-Time Count or Registry Week events, please contact Anika Mifsud at amifsud@cdcd.org.