Houston Highlighted for Progress Toward Solving Homelessness
Communications Admin • May 12, 2014
On Thursday, April 24, Houston was one of two communities invited to testify before members of the Cabinet and leaders from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in Washington, D.C. These leaders met to take action on Federal efforts to support and continue progress on ending homelessness in communities across the country.
Along with a community leader from Phoenix, AZ, Mandy Chapman Semple (Special Assistant for Homeless Initiatives to Mayor Annise Parker) shared that Houston is expecting to end homelessness among Veterans in 2014, which is one year ahead of the national goal. “We believe by the end of 2014, Houston will have achieved a steady state system,” said Chapman Semple. “This means that our system will have the capacity to house those individuals within a 30-day period, with a strong retention in their permanent housing.”
Other highlights from Houston included progress on ending chronic homelessness; since January 2012, our community has connected 1,455 individuals with Permanent Supportive Housing. Chapman Semple also highlighted Houston’s understanding of supportive services (such as health care, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, employment, and education), and how our community is creating a framework to understand when these systems can operate in parallel and when they must intersect.
To read Mandy Chapman Semple’s expert brief, click here.
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.
