Wisconsin’s ‘point in time’ homeless count: Who gets counted, who doesn’t?
Homelessness has been increasing statewide, according to the annual PIT count conducted by volunteers. But these counts struggle to accurately capture the homeless population, especially in rural areas.
Britanie Peaslee, community resource liaison at Rainbow Community Care, left, and Sandy Hahn, housing manager at Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, prepare to begin the annual “point in time” (PIT) count on Jan. 22, 2025, at Kwik Trip in Lake Mills, Wis. (Credit: Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
Just before midnight, with a fresh layer of snow sticking to the ground, volunteers Sandy Hahn and Britanie Peaslee slowly drive through Jefferson County’s local parking lots, gas stations, truck stops, parks, trails and laundromats, keeping their eyes peeled.
They’re grateful for the snowfall, which makes it easier to see footprints, fogged windows and occupied vehicles. They have a long night ahead of them, and being in a rural area makes their job — finding those without shelter — even more challenging.
“It’s a little bit easier when it is colder because you can see, OK this windshield is frosted from the inside, somebody’s been breathing in there for quite a while,” Peaslee said.
In Johnson Creek, they find most of the homeless living in cars parked behind the Pine Cone Travel Plaza — a local restaurant, gas station and truck stop. The duo carefully approach each vehicle — one with a sleeping child in the back — with blankets and a four-page questionnaire.
But that’s assuming the unhoused are willing to engage with the strangers at all, let alone at 3 a.m. while it’s 7 degrees and snowing outside.
