Communities that are participating in the HPS Coordinated Count can add questions to the HPS 10 Core Survey questions. The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness – in partnership with the National Homeless Count Research Advisory Team – has created a set of additional questions for communities to use.
The COH questions fall into two categories: Follow-Up Questions and Optional Questions.
The Follow-Up Questions complement the HPS 10 Core Survey Questions. These questions can be asked in follow-up to the HPS Core Survey Questions to gain further insight on a particular topic.
The Optional Questions cover topics not addressed by the HPS 10 Core Survey Questions.
We encourage communities to adopt the COH questions as they are worded. PiT Count data can only be aggregated when communities align the wording of their survey questions.
Coordinated PiT Count surveys provide a number of benefits:
- Communities can be sure that their survey questions are effective. The COH questions were designed based on the experiences and feedback of communities that have previously conducted counts;
- Communities can compare their data with other communities regionally, provincially and nationally; and
- A coordinated survey puts us one step closer to a national picture of homelessness!