• The annual homeless count is a one-night survey of homelessness that takes place in homeless shelters, food banks, hot meal sites, and known homeless encampments.  This methodology has gained traction as a measure of homelessness throughout the state.   The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notes that “unsheltered homeless people are an important subpopulation of homeless persons and their characteristics and needs must be accommodated within any strategy to reduce homelessness and help eliminate chronic homelessness. Collecting good baseline data about this subpopulation is essential to understanding the causes of homelessness and to designing effective responses. This can be used as a basis for comparison in future years.”

Some forms of homelessness do not fit the legislated definition of being homeless, such as families forced into overcrowded situations, or children and youth who are forced to live with friends, or families temporarily “couch surfing” to escape the streets.

Since 2003:

• The total number of homeless counted has increased by over 80%
• The total number of families counted has increased by 95%
• The number of children counted has increased by nearly 170%. 
• The number of people in families counted has increased by over 130%

Compared to the 2010 Homeless Count:

• The total number of homeless counted increased by almost 15%
• The total number of families counted increased by over 10%
• The number of children counted has increased by 15%. 
• The number of people in families counted has increased by 12%

Chart Notes:
1. The total number counted is equal to the number of singles plus the number of people in families plus the number of people in households with no children.
2. There was one unaccompanied youth was included in the total number of singles.
3. Prior to 2009, the number of people in households without children were not reported.