Annual Houston-area homeless count finds only slight increase from large nationwide spike

HOUSTON (KIAH) — Nationwide, homelessness increased by 12% between 2022 and 2023.

This figure from the Houston/Harris County Homeless Coalition eclipses the slight increase in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development requires this organization to conduct a so-called PIT Count – a one-time survey – each year in January during the last ten days of the month.

This year’s PIT count on January 22 found that 3,280 people are homeless in the three counties served by the coalition, only ten people more than the previous year’s count.

The count requires a small army of workers and volunteers, but the coalition says it’s worth it.

“We want to do this, because we want to know how far we’re progressing in the fight against homelessness,” said Ana Rausch, vice president of program operations for the Houston/Harris County Homeless Coalition. .

She credits her organization’s efforts to provide permanent housing for the homeless, as opposed to temporary solutions, for only minimal year-over-year increases in homelessness.

And when it comes to unsheltered homeless people – people actually living on the streets – that figure has fallen by 10%, which Rausch attributes to the fact that shelters were able to take in more people as the latest restrictions were lifted. occupation related to COVID-19.

But she fears that the progress made is under threat.

Fewer funds are in the pipeline as COVID-19 relief funds come to an end.

“We fear that at the end of this year the money for the pandemic will run out,” Rausch said. “And so Houston, we are an income-restricted city. We don’t get a lot of local money for the homeless like some of the biggest cities in the country do. This will therefore result in a reduction of approximately 40% in available funds.

Hoping to continue his organization’s progress, Rausch hopes city leaders will find a way to grant them more funding.

“We need some kind of tax revenue or some kind of bond or referendum or something like that, like in some big cities like Los Angeles and New York,” she said.