WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — Williamson County leaders are getting a better idea of how prevalent homelessness is in the county, as volunteers go out for their annual Point-In-Time (PIT) Count.
Every year, counties nationwide conduct PIT Counts, where for one night they go out and count how many people are living on the streets.
In 2024, volunteers counted about 100 people living on the streets in Williamson County. Typically for the county, there’s about 40 to 50 volunteers who go everywhere in the county, from North Austin, to Cedar Park, to Leander, Liberty Hill and Taylor for the count.
After asking unhoused people a few demographic questions, like their age, race and ethnicity, volunteers will also hand out in-demand supplies during the cold weather, like blankets, socks, hats and even some food.
Leaders with the Wilco Homeless Coalition say even though they are collecting a great deal of data during the count, it’s about much more than just statistics.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to really build those bonds and community amongst our neighbors,” said Janette Gaudiesus with the Wilco Homeless Coalition.
The PIT Count is part of what the federal government uses to determine how much money municipalities get to address homelessness. It can also be a useful tool to help local nonprofits figure out how they can specifically help the area.
“We want to be able to use all of that, all of the data toward getting as much as we can at any level that can help our community,” Gaudiesus said.
Kristi Brown started volunteering for the PIT Count last year. She has served with a local nonprofit, the Helping Hands of Georgetown, for the past four years, so she thought helping with the count would be a good crossover, since she has a good rapport with many of her unhoused neighbors.
Brown says the most impactful part about the count is getting the word out about the community need, so people living on the streets can receive more help.
“Awareness is the main thing,” Brown said. “I like to help because I like the friends that we serve, and to do anything that would benefit them, we need public awareness.”
Gaudiesus says the Wilco Homeless Coalition is always looking for more donations to give to the unhoused population and volunteers.