Coalition Strategic Planning and Leadership Update
Communications Admin • December 6, 2018
Dear Coalition for the Homeless Friends and Family:
In 2012 our region accepted the national challenge to end Veteran homelessness by 2015, chronic homelessness by 2018, and family and youth/young adult homelessness by 2020. With more than 100 nonprofit partners, businesses, government agencies, and more, the Coalition built a strong system known as The Way Home. This system has effectively ended Veteran homelessness in our region and is considered a national leader in solving homelessness.
As many of you are aware, the Coalition has been reviewing our strategic direction and seeking input into what would best serve Houston and our surrounding communities over the next several years. The most significant finding from our strategic review is that Houston is ready for the Coalition to take the leading role in public education and advocacy on behalf of those experiencing homelessness. For more than six years we have been successfully “leading from behind” as we built our system and drove local collaboration. It is now time for the Coalition to become the public voice and face as an advocate for those experiencing homelessness, so the Houston region can continue to be a national leader and find solutions to these complicated issues.
As the Coalition Board of Directors studied our organization and the community’s needs, we took a close look at our organizational structure and available resources. We have determined that as we move into this new direction, we will do so with fresh leadership at both the staff and board levels.
The first major change is that Marilyn Brown will be leaving her position as President/CEO of the Coalition. On behalf of the Board of Directors I want to express our sincere appreciation for the outstanding leadership that Marilyn has provided during her tenure with the Coalition. Since 2012, she and her team have driven the collaboration that led to The Way Home being a nationally-recognized homeless response system which, during her tenure, has reduced homelessness by 51% and moved more than 15,000 people out of homelessness and into permanent housing.
Marilyn and the Coalition also stepped up in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and led in the planning of a disaster recovery housing program that, with the help of other partner agencies of The Way Home, prevented homelessness for nearly 1,000 individuals and helped our region’s recovery efforts. Most recently, Marilyn’s leadership helped secure significant funding for two of our partner agencies from a national foundation.
The work is not complete but under Marilyn’s leadership, the Coalition has moved our system closer to the goal that no one should ever have to be without permanent housing for more than 30 days and is now in the position to take on the leading role in public education and advocacy.
The second major change is that Wendy Adair is stepping down as Chair of the Coalition’s Board of Directors and I, Alan Watkins, will be returning to serve in this position. We sincerely appreciate Wendy’s leadership on the Board, particularly in leading our strategic direction initiative.
An interim President/CEO will be named in January. Until that time, Lynn Lohr, former Board Treasurer, has agreed to serve as interim COO and will oversee the general activities of the organization. In 2019, the Board and I will launch a national search for our next President/CEO.
I want to thank you for your partnership and support. I look forward to working with you in 2019 and beyond as the Coalition embarks on this era of growth.
Sincerely,
Alan Watkins and the Board of Directors
Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County
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.
