Houston Homeless Population Cut by Nearly 40 Percent Since 2011
Communications Admin • May 29, 2014
Coalition for the Homeless Credits Permanent Supportive Housing
HOUSTON, Texas (May 29, 2014) — Houston’s homeless population declined by 37 percent, or 3,187 fewer homeless people, since 2011, according to the Point-In-Time Homeless Count conducted on Jan. 30, 2014 by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston and Harris County. Marilyn L. Brown, President & CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston and Harris County, announced the results of the Count earlier today along with Tory Gunsolley, President & CEO of the Houston Housing Authority and Chair of the Steering Committee for the Houston Continuum of Care. Brown credited the 2012 formalization of the Houston/Harris/Fort Bend County Continuum of Care (CoC)
for the outstanding results to date.
“Access to permanent housing gives people the chance to leave homelessness behind. Our Continuum of Care partners’ collaboration to create integrated, community-wide strategies to prevent and end homelessness is the key to our success. But, we still have much heavy lifting in front of us,” said Brown.
This year, on a given night, there were 5,351 total sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the Houston area compared with 8,538 on a given night identified in the 2011 Count and 6,359 identified in 2013. Of those surveyed in the Count, 2,291 homeless people (43 percent) lived on the streets or in other uninhabitable places compared with 4,418 (52 percent) in 2011.
“Houston is on its way to becoming a national model to end homelessness,” Brown said. “Because there are multiple causes of homelessness, there need to be multiple solutions to end homelessness. The key to success for chronically homeless citizens, who are our most vulnerable population, is providing permanent housing linked with critical services. Permanent Supportive Housing saves lives. I am amazed at the progress made through the collaboration of the many service providers and partners. And, we’re just getting started!”
The federal government requires the annual count as it relates to the funding received at the local level through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Point-in-Time Homeless Count was supported by the University of Texas School of Public Health and the City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services. Trained teams of volunteers canvassed Houston, Harris and Fort Bend Counties counting both sheltered and unsheltered people.
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.
