2017 Homeless Count Shows Continued Decrease in Homelessness
Communications Admin • May 25, 2017
The Coalition for the Homeless as lead agency to The Way Home
conducted the annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count & Survey on January 23 of this year. This year’s results show a continued six-year trend in reducing homelessness, marking a 60% cumulative reduction since 2011. Data from the survey is also used by The Way Home to gauge the progress and effectiveness of the local homeless response system.
In previous years, the Homeless Count & Survey encompassed Houston, Pasadena, Harris County, and Fort Bend County. In July 2016, Conroe and Montgomery County joined The Way Home, and the 2017 Count & Survey was conducted in that region for the first time this January.
“The Way Home partners have been focused on permanent housing with supportive services as they key to solving homelessness, and the 2017 Count results show that this strategy is working,” said Marilyn Brown, President/CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless. “Since the system transformation work of The Way Home began in 2012, we have seen the number of unsheltered, chronically homeless individuals continue to shrink. This shows that our focus on ending chronic homelessness is working. With the support of local partners, The Way Home is committed to ending chronic homelessness and continuing down the path to creating a system where no one has to be without permanent housing for more than 30 days.”
On the night of January 23, there were 3,412* total sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in Houston, Harris County, and Fort Bend County; compared to 8,538 identified in 2011. Additional highlights from the Count results in Houston, Harris County, and Fort Bend County include:
- The number of unsheltered, chronically homeless individuals has decreased by 20% since 2016 – from 354 individuals to 282 individuals; and by 82% since 2011, when the number of unsheltered chronically homeless individuals was 1,591.
- 75% reduction in unsheltered homelessness since 2011.
- 78% of unsheltered homeless individuals surveyed during the Count became homeless within the Houston city limits.
- 39% of unsheltered homeless individuals surveyed had a high school diploma or GED; 21% had some college or a college degree or higher.
- 25% of unsheltered homeless individuals reported having no income, while 20% reported panhandling for income.
*Montgomery County results are not included in the historical comparisons listed above because 2017 is the first year that The Way Home’s Count methodology was executed in that area.
Montgomery County Results
In July 2016, Conroe and Montgomery County joined The Way Home and as such was included in the 2017 Homeless Count & Survey. On the night of January 23, 2017 there were 149 sheltered homeless individuals and 44 unsheltered homeless individuals in Conroe and Montgomery County. This data will serve as baseline data for future comparisons and to gauge progress toward solving homelessness in that region in years going forward.
Click here
to read the press release.
Click here
to be linked to the Coalition’s Local Data and Research webpage where you can view the full executive summary from this year’s Count & Survey, as well as a one-page fact sheet.
Houston, Texas (February 24, 2026) – This week, the nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) is leading the annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey (“PIT Count”) to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness across Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. “We may see a slight uptick in the number this year, but we have a plan,” said Kelly Young, President & CEO of CFTH. “With the support of the City of Houston, Harris County, and private funders, we have been piloting new interventions to shorten the length of time people in our region experience homelessness. With adequate funding, we look forward to expanding those interventions to help people regain lives of self-determination.” CFTH coordinates the Houston region’s public-private homeless response system, The Way Home . Through this collaboration, The Way Home partners have successfully housed over 36,000 people since 2012. CFTH will release the results of Houston’s 2026 PIT Count in the summer, following independent verification by an epidemiologist. These findings will provide insight into how factors such as increases in the cost of living and the end of federal pandemic relief funding have impacted homelessness in our region. More information about the 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey The PIT Count offers a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in our region on a single night. This year, the “night of record” is Monday, Feb. 23. CFTH determines the number of people staying in shelters on that night by pulling records electronically from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) . The unsheltered count will be conducted on the following days, from Tuesday, Feb. 24 to Thursday, Feb. 26. More than 400 volunteers and staff of local nonprofit service provider partners will canvass the three-county region to survey people living unsheltered, using an app on their mobile devices. Results from the 2026 PIT Count will help gauge the progress of The Way Home’s ongoing collaborative efforts. It will also help CFTH and partner homeless outreach teams understand geographic shifts and target their outreach throughout the year. The PIT Count illuminates specific programmatic gaps and provides additional information needed to allocate resources most efficiently. The PIT Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process. HUD furnishes the majority of funding for programs that provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness in the region. In 2024, HUD granted more than $71 million to the Houston area.
As lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), CFTH is working with local governmental entities to advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness to ensure their needs are being considered as winter weather affects our region. We will make frequent updates as we receive information. Please check back often for the latest information. Last updated 02/01/2026 at 12:00 p.m.
While our system has helped thousands of people move from homelessness to housing, this year’s results highlight the need to broaden our approach.
