A letter from our President/CEO
Communications Admin • January 2, 2020
Dear Friends,
As we begin 2020, I wanted to take time to reflect on my first year with the Coalition for the Homeless.
I joined the Coalition last January, excited to bring a business perspective to the work of solving homelessness. I strongly believe that the programs and resources exist to solve homelessness in our community – we just need to coordinate more effectively and efficiently.
I was quickly impressed by the level of collaboration already underway in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. More than 100 partners have been working together through The Way Home since 2012 with meaningful results: more than 18,000 people have been housed with an 84% success rate. The Coalition is fortunate to work with outstanding partners and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them better over the last 12 months.
I also learned a great deal about the unique role that the Coalition plays in the community. As a financial and management intermediary, the Coalition plays a valuable role as the conductor of the local homeless response system symphony. Just like a symphony has musicians and instruments, the Houston region has wonderful nonprofits, funders, and programs working directly with those experiencing homelessness.
However, the Coalition plays an essential role as the coordinator and convener, leading the collaboration and planning, and developing and directing funding and resources that make Houston so successful at solving homelessness.
Over the last year I’ve been fortunate to work with a very talented team of individuals at the Coalition who work tirelessly every day to implement homelessness solutions. Both they and our Board of Directors have worked beside me to improve the organization’s financial stability and implement a new operating model to ensure that we are being as effective and efficient as possible.
In November, the Board removed “Interim” from my title and named me President/CEO. I am thrilled to continue working with the Coalition and some of our priorities for the coming year include:
- continuing to develop staff talent,
- growing in the areas of public advocacy and communications,
- aggressively exploring sustainable areas of funding for our local homeless response system, from healthcare groups, pay for success programs, and others,
- developing new programs for those experiencing homelessness who have serious mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders and need higher levels of care, and
- ensuring the financial and funding sustainability of the Coalition.
I believe that Houston could be the first major city in the US to solve homelessness. We are a one-of-a-kind place with a yes-we-can spirit. I also believe that the success of our local homeless response system is dependent upon the success of the Coalition.
We can achieve our vision of a Houston region where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. I look forward to working with you to get us there.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Nichols
President/CEO
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.
