SPOKANE, Wash. — On Broadway Ave, PIT team leader Gary Schmidt told NonStop Local, explained he lived in the area. Not in a home, at Salvation army.
“That’s crazy because the Salvation army, three blocks that way, that’s actually where I grew up at,” Schmidt said.
While the Salvation Army has moved since Gary Schmidt was a homeless child living in Spokane, he says being in the area, brings back those memories.
“I had this whole memory of going down on Christmas and eating Mashed potatoes and stuff,” Schmidt said.
But Friday afternoon’s stroll, wasn’t just nostalgic. It was also Schmidt’s fifth Point in Time (PIT) count.
While his team was assigned the downtown core on Friday, Schmidt says he’s picked up several shifts, including one in rural Spokane County.
But regardless of where the shift is, Schmidt always starts with the question: “Would you be willing to take a survey with me real quick.”
The PIT count is voluntary, which means that homeless individuals can opt out of answering questions.
But regardless of whether or not they answer the questions, giving PIT surveyors like Schmidt demographic data like age, veteran status, and date/place of birth, Schmidt explained how he uses his lived experience to connect with the community,
“So having that firsthand knowledge, I have a better understanding of which route to gear them towards,” Schmidt said.
After leaving the military, Schmidt accepted a job in homeless outreach with SNAP. He lends that experience towards the count as well.
“I think for this area, we’re mostly going to be looking for, is people in vehicles,” Schmidt told NonStop Local.
But finding people living in cars, more difficult.
“That part of my job has gotten a lot more difficult over the last I say year or so is that I’m finding less and less people on the streets and more in vehicles because they can hide easier,” Schmidt said.
During Friday’s volunteer shift, Schmidt encountered a man who had been living in his car for just a day, and while that individual declined to be counted, Schmidt says he’s still taking notes.
“The great part is, like I was saying the last time we talked, is that after we finished the headcount, I then have the ability to go back, engage the same individuals and invite them to housing solutions,” Schmidt said.
In an hour, Schmidt’s downtown team located 3 people. One didn’t want to be counted, another had already been counted, and another was willing, and hadn’t been counted before,
“All the service providers, the shelters, homeless outreach workers, all let the folks know that this is happening, so they are very well aware of it,” Schmidt said. “The folks that are more camera shy, they tend to take off and hide a little bit more.”
And when they do hide, whether in vehicles or in alcoves, Schmidt explained that volunteers often have to act as detectives, looking for signs.
But sometimes, those signs don’t exist.
“I have a dentist, I have three postmen, I had a mental health counselor, one teacher, and then just a whole list of other folks, and you can never tell,” Schmidt said. “So they shower on a regular basis. Clean clothes. But at the end of the night, that’s where they slept.”
The PIT count continues into the beginning of February. The city will then compile the data and release a full report in the summer.
