The City of Grand Junction plans to conduct a survey in December and use the results to address issues related to homelessness.

The city will partner with community service providers who’ve been trained to conduct surveys. Volunteers will work in pairs and asks respondents to select from a menu of choices. The goal is to survey at least 50 unhoused individuals.

The survey is scheduled to be completed by the end of December. Responses will be reviewed and analyzed. The results are scheduled for publication in the spring. City staff  expect to use the results in developing strategies to address issues related to homelessness.

The survey was designed with three primary purposes:

Gain an increased understanding of the characteristics and experiences of unhoused people in the Grand Junction area.

Understand how individuals become homeless.

Identify the barriers against exiting homelessness and obtaining housing.

The results of the survey also could help provide a platform of information to develop education strategies for use by city staff as well as business owners, local officials and residents.

The effort aligns with one of the principles of a city comprehensive plan to address the causes and impacts of homelessness while also providing supportive housing for the homeless population.

The effort also aligns with a city housing strategy that calls for financial support of existing housing and homelessness services. Survey results will be used in making funding decisions.