Hurricane Harvey
Communications Admin • September 16, 2017
In the time since Hurricane Harvey hit Southeast Texas, the Coalition for the Homeless has been on the ground at local disaster recovery shelters, seven days a week, working to help homeless individuals impacted by the storm:
- In response to Hurricane Harvey, The Way Home, under leadership by the Coalition for the Homeless, has created a disaster recovery shelter transition housing program to help individuals and families displaced by the storm get into housing and on the road to recovery. Many of the people remaining in disaster recovery shelters at this time are not immediately eligible for FEMA assistance and do not have a home to return to.
- The Coalition has also been working with partners of The Way Home to ensure that services for homeless individuals are available throughout the community so their needs can be met.
- Some families who were housed through The Way Home were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. We are incredibly thankful that only a small number of formerly homeless households were impacted. The Coalition is working with those families and their case managers every step of the way to help them get back into housing – whether it is searching for a new apartment unit, or helping with one-time financial assistance.
At the same time, all of the work of housing homeless individuals that was happening before the storm continues today. Coordinated Access assessors and navigators are still working hard to connect homeless individuals with a permanent housing option!
From August 26 – September 8, the Coalition received more than $400,000 from thousands of generous donors across the United States. We remain overwhelmed by the generosity and outpouring of support for our work. Donations we received will be used to meet the immediate needs of homeless households impacted by Hurricane Harvey, whether it is one-time financial assistance, furniture for new units, we are here to ensure that the most vulnerable among us get back on their feet after this catastrophic event. Your contributions will allow us to make this a reality.
If you know someone who is homeless and needs assistance, visit our Resources
webpage for more information.
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.
