Beginning on Tuesday, 70 volunteers will fan out across the city and the county of Peterborough. Over the next four days, they will be looking for homeless individuals in order to find out what can be done to improve their situation.
The survey is a partnership between the United Way of Peterborough and District and the City of Peterborough.
“I think there is something so powerful about speaking with people and giving them a voice and they want to share their stories with us, they want to talk to us and say ‘Here’s what happened to me, here’s what I need, here’s how the community can support me,” the United Way’s Lisa Smith said.
In one section of the survey, subjects will be asked if they’re willing to give their name. Dorothy Olver, with the City of Peterborough, says putting a name to a face will help design programs for homeless individuals.
“We really want to understand circumstances, we want to know people by name when we can, and we want to know where we can find them so we can connect with them again … to line up programs and services to the individual,” Olver said.
In 2016, about 250 people in the city took part in the survey. This year, there will be a focus on the homeless in Peterborough county. It’s expected the first results will be available in early April