Street outreach volunteers are needed to help distribute the 2013 Annual Point in Time Survey of Homeless Youth and Young Adults in Worcester from Monday, Oct. 21 to Monday, Oct. 28. Volunteer responsibilities involve asking target age-range youth and young adults at designated locations (Worcester Common, the Worcester Public Library, City Hall, and Union Station, as well as outside of Worcester public high schools and local parks) to fill out a brief questionnaire regarding their current housing status. The training for street outreach volunteers will be held at Clark University on Friday, Oct. 18 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. At this training, volunteers will be briefed about how to approach youth on the street in a respectful and discreet manner, and the basic goals of the outreach will be outlined.

Volunteers are strongly encouraged to sign up by October 16, although we will definitely still take on volunteers once the survey week has begun. There is no obligatory minimum quota of volunteer time, and any amount of time that one can contribute is appreciated and very important. Interested volunteers should email youthpit2013@gmail.com to get on the volunteer list and arrange a schedule.

Over the past several years, this survey has been instrumental in improving services for young people experiencing housing instability and in working toward policy change that will hopefully prevent young people from becoming homeless. Street outreach is a critical component in the distribution of the survey, and we need as many volunteers as possible.