With the housing costs climbing, homelessness has been on the rise since 2017. Nationally, homelessness has increased 6 percent overall since then, according to 2022 data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This month, states in New England will begin releasing annual data from their winter Point-in-Time counts, tallying the number of individuals who are experiencing homelessness.
Here’s what you should know about a Point-in-Time count and why it matters.
What is a Point-in-Time count and who regulates it?
A point-in-time count, also known as PIT count, is a mandated annual count of all people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, including those who are temporarily staying inside shelters. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that Continuums of Care (or COCs), conduct an annual count of people who are in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and safe havens on a single night.
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Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out by local organizations or public bodies — depending on the state. The PIT count data is submitted to HUD.
What information is collected during the Point-in-Time count?
COCs are required to identify whether a person is an individual, in a family unit, or if they are an unaccompanied minor under the age of 18. Individuals who are between the ages of 18 and 24, and individuals who are identified as “chronically homeless,” are counted in separate categories.
What is the Housing Inventory Count?
The Housing Inventory Count, also known as HIC, is a point-in-time inventory of programs that provide beds and units dedicated to people experiencing homelessness. It is submitted to HUD along with Point-in-Time count data. The Housing Inventory Count is categorized by five program types:
- Emergency shelter
- Transitional housing
- Rapid re-housing
- Safe Haven
- Permanent supportive housing
What does the most recent PIT count say about homelessness in America?
According to the 2022 Point-in-Time count, which is the most recent available data through HUD, 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness across the country. Some experts say this is likely an undercount. Approximately 28 percent of those counted were people living in families with children.
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Of those counted, 22 percent were chronically homeless individuals, which means they’ve either had repeated incidents of homelessness or have experienced long-term homelessness. Another 6 percent were veterans and 5 percent were unaccompanied youth under the age of 25.
Why do Point-in-Time counts matter?
The data collected in the annual PIT counts is used to make decisions related to federal and state funding for shelter, housing production, and a range of social services.
How has the total number of people experiencing homelessness changed in the United States since 2020?
From 2020 to 2022, homelessness jumped in Vermont by more than 150 percent, in Maine by more than 110 percent, and in Rhode Island by nearly 43 percent, according to Point-in-Time counts submitted to HUD. Some states have already begun releasing their 2023 data.
Where has homelessness increased in New England over the last 15 years?
The number of individuals experiencing homelessness has increased in Vermont (169 percent), Maine (67 percent), Rhode Island (15 percent), and in Massachusetts (more than 2 percent) between 2007 and 2022.
Homelessness has decreased by nearly 36 percent in Connecticut and nearly 29 percent in New Hampshire during that same time frame, according to those states’ Point-in-Time counts submitted to HUD.
Does New England have enough shelter to keep up with the region’s increasing homeless population?
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According to Housing Inventory Counts submitted to HUD, most states in New England are filling their emergency shelter beds on a nightly basis. In the region, Maine makes the least use of its capacity, using just 25 percent of its 887 emergency shelter beds year round.
Why do some say the Point-in-Time count is inaccurate?
Some advocates for the homeless say that the Point-in-Time Count’s methodology does not capture the full picture of those who experience homelessness because they claim to miss those who aren’t sleeping outside or in shelters. Individuals who are doubling up, couch surfing, staying in hotels or motels, sleeping in campgrounds, and those sleeping in their cars — none of whom are considered “homeless” under HUD’s definition — could easily be missed, some experts say.
HUD has four definitions for homelessness, which include “literally homeless,” “imminent risk of homelessness,” “homeless under other Federal statutes,” and “fleeing or attempting to flee a domestic violence” situation. Some local and national leaders are attempting to change these definitions, particularly as housing costs are increasing and the demographics of those experiencing homeless are changing.
The annual count is also intentionally held in the winter, which allows HUD and state governments to get a sense of how many people are sleeping outside even in the most extreme circumstances. Yet it’s also when many states are funding additional shelter. Some regions also have to rely on volunteers to help conduct PIT counts.
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The US Government Accountability Office released a report in 2020 that said while it found the Point-in-Time count to be a critical piece of data, it was likely flawed and led to HUD “likely underestimating” the homeless population across the nation. In March, the accountability office said HUD has yet to conduct a quality assurance check on the PIT count methodology data.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.