A growing number of Houstonians are living on the street, and there’s a big factor playing into the rise.
The number of available beds for the region’s homeless population has plummeted to the lowest level in at least two decades, as providers have increasingly struggled to keep shelters open and running at full capacity, according to data collected for the federal Housing Inventory Count.
About 2,600 temporary beds were available in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties as of January, a 13% decline from early 2024, when local providers tallied about 3,000 beds. Local organizations count the number of available beds each January.
The loss of beds coincided with an increase of unsheltered individuals, whose population rose from about 1,100 in early 2024 to nearly 1,300 in January, according to the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County’s annual point-in-time count. It is a setback for a region that had been successful in curbing homelessness in recent years; the unsheltered population had dropped for two consecutive years after hovering around 1,500 for several years.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines unsheltered homelessness as sleeping in vehicles, abandoned buildings, farms or the wilderness.
The latest data also offers context to the city of Houston’s controversial purchase authorized Wednesday of a $16 million property in East Downtown that will provide 150 to 225 beds for people without homes, with no requirements for entry.
Renee Cavazos, the vice president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County’s homeless response team, said the decline in beds follows short-term funding sources expiring, and a number of shelters reducing capacity or closing in 2024.
“The majority of the shelter programs within our region are privately funded,” she said. “As the economy shifts, priorities shift within planning and funding for shelters, and they have to make tough decisions on what’s best for them and their operations.”
No vacancy in Houston
For the past decade, the Houston region’s number of beds has consistently ranged between about 2,700 and 3,400 spread across dozens of shelters.
Most beds are housed in emergency shelters, which are designed to provide a short-term reprieve. Nearly all of the rest are in transitional housing facilities, where people might stay longer while working toward establishing permanent housing.
This January, the sheltered population in Houston was evenly split between men and women, with families making up nearly 40% of the total. Men made up about three-quarters of the unsheltered population.
The availability of beds, combined with strong regional coordination and a push to put people in permanent housing, helped Houston cut its homeless population from about 8,500 to 3,300 over the past 15 years.
But a combination of factors — including fluctuations in private donations, shifting federal grants and rising costs — are weighing on homeless shelter operators.
For example, one of the region’s well-established shelter providers, ReCenter, stopped operating its Midtown facility and sold its building in 2024 amid financial challenges brought on by the pandemic.
A ‘super’ solution?
Local government and nonprofit leaders are proposing several initiatives to add beds and free up shelter space.
The highest-profile recent move comes from the city of Houston, which unveiled plans earlier this month for the $16 million acquisition of a 38,750-square-foot facility near Shell Energy Stadium.
City leaders said the shelter, known as a “super hub,” would offer temporary beds, medical care, housing referral services and other support. Annual operating expenses are expected to total $10 million to $14 million.
Mike Nichols, the director of the city’s Housing and Community Development Department, said the facility would particularly help address a shortage of beds available to single adult men and people arriving without a referral. However, many residents living near the building opposed the purchase, citing concerns about safety and a lack of transparency surrounding the project.
City Council members ultimately voted 14-1 Wednesday to move forward with the acquisition.
Catherine Villarreal, the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County’s vice president of public affairs, said the shelter will help address bed shortages, though the organization’s ultimate focus is finding permanent housing for people in need.
“What's most important to us as lead agency of the homeless response system is that there are adequate exit strategies in place,” Villarreal said. “Shelter can play a role in helping people get back on their feet and back into housing. But at the end of the day, we still want permanent housing for everybody. That’s our focus.”
The super hub is one part of the city’s proposed three-year, $168 million plan using public and private funds to add shelter space and settle more people in permanent housing. The city of Houston and Harris County have committed $41 million to the plan, and local leaders hope to raise $60 million from private donors.
“Homelessness looks different for each person,” Kelly Young, the homeless coalition’s president and CEO, said last month. “A one-size-fits-all approach will not suffice moving forward. We have complex individuals who need multiple types of interventions to be successful.”
