This year’s count comes at a pivotal time, with new sources of funding needed and an altered citywide approach to homelessness.
In 2024, officials made a call to action with federal COVID-19 relief funding dwindling. An estimated minimum of $50 million per year, not including an annual U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development disbursement, was deemed necessary to keep Houston’s homelessness population from rising far above the 3,280 people identified in the 2024 point-in-time count. Without it, officials predicted, approximately 5,200 people who were previously homeless could become unhoused again by the end of 2026.
“At a time when rates of homelessness are rising nationwide, we are proud our numbers in Houston have not grown,” said Kelly Young, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. “However, we cannot count on continued stabilization. We urgently need to identify new and sustainable sources of funding for our homeless response system.”
During a November press conference, Mayor John Whitmire announced his plan to end homelessness in Houston, which would require $70 million annually. He said while one goal of the plan is to treat the homeless population compassionately, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson could be used to keep people from sleeping public spaces.
"You help the homeless by getting them off the street and reclaiming our public spaces," Whitmire said. “We’re going to adjust the laws to humanely and firmly get people off the street.”
Renee Cavazos, the coalition’s vice president of the homeless response system planning and implementation, is the lead logistics coordinator for the point-in-time count, which is set for Jan. 27-30. She recently spoke with the Urban Edge to explain how the count is carried out, its limitations and new efforts that the coalition will begin this year.
The count will span Fort Bend, Harris and Montgomery counties. Cavazos said HUD mandates that counts occur within the last 10 days of January because cold weather conditions across most of the country can help capture the number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness more accurately.
Of the 3,280 people in the Houston area experiencing homelessness in the 2024 point-in-time count, 66% were sheltered and 34% were unsheltered, the latter defined as sleeping in conditions not meant for human habitation.
“As a system, we have received special permissions from HUD to do an extended count because of the vast geography we cover,” Cavazos said. “A lot of communities do it in two days, or even one day. Some communities have a summer count in addition to the winter count, but it’s only the winter count that’s counted toward the HUD mandate.”
Determining homelessness
During the point-in-time count, volunteers canvass the coalition’s three-county region to engage people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Results are reported through a mobile app. The app also pinpoints gaps within the homeless response system, and informs the coalition of areas that are lacking in support services.
The majority of volunteers are outreach workers who are trained on trauma-informed care approaches and strategies, Cavazos said. The coalition also invites community organizations and neighborhood groups to participate in the count.
“Volunteers can either conduct an interview, which is a questionnaire to the client, or they can do an observation. We highly encourage that interview aspect, because that gives us a better picture of if these individuals are truly experiencing homelessness,” Cavazos said. “Some of these people are housed, but they’re receiving their meals the street, or some sort of other service.”
The survey asks participants questions about their demographic information, their homeless history, if they have any disabling conditions and where they slept during the first night of the count. Once someone is identified as homeless, volunteers will connect them with housing and other supporting services.
Challenges to the count
Cavazos said that Houston’s weather conditions can be a major obstacle when conducting the count. In the past two years, the coalition implemented a bad-weather date because of rain during the last week of January.
“Normally, individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, if not in the shelter, they’re most likely hiding or hunkering down somewhere where they’re not getting rained on,” Cavazos said.
Another challenge is identifying areas where individuals are difficult to reach. Cavazos said this includes hidden locations, such as encampments that are far from the urban core.
“We work in conjunction with Montgomery County officials, but in the area close to Sam Houston National Forest, for example, we may not be able to account for what is actively happening there,” Cavazos said.
Other populations that have not been captured in previous counts are people who are considered “doubled up,” according to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Doubled up refers to individuals or families who may be temporarily staying with other relatives or friends.
Shining light on uncounted youth
The biggest change the coalition has made for the 2025 count is expanding efforts to include young people experiencing homelessness. The coalition is looking to host events for youth who are considered homeless under other federal statutes.
“That’s youth who are couch surfing, doubled up or temporarily housed,” Cavazos said. “We really are trying to think through what type of events we can draw these individuals out, so that they can be included as part of the point-in-time count.”
After receiving a $1.4 million Youth Homelessness System Improvement grant in June, the coalition will also seek to integrate school district data that will help identify children and families experiencing homelessness. As of the 2022-23 academic year, the Houston Independent School District reported over 7,200 students as homeless.
“New experiences to homelessness have increased the past two years, so we want to know how we can stop that water coming into our boat and focus on those experiencing homeless now,” Cavazos said. “We are looking at agreements with United Way to sort through shared data collection to help understand housing insecurity more, and really look toward prevention and upstream work.”
