Mayor Parker Reflects on Homelessness in Houston During State of the City Address
Communications Admin • April 24, 2014
The Honorable Mayor Annise Parker gave her State of the City address on Thursday, April 3, at the Greater Houston Partnership’s annual event. Mayor Parker dedicated the majority of her address to “finishing what we’ve started,” and focused on three major areas: solidifying Houston’s reputation as a green city, civil rights for Houstonians, and ending veteran and chronic homelessness.
Mayor Parker entered the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Americas to the well-known song “Taking Care of Business,” and began by discussing Houston’s successes over the past few years, citing the lowest per capita crime rate in recent history, the Rebuild Houston program (which has so far completed 450 miles of road and drain improvements), the now nearly-completed backlog of sexual assault kits, and the construction of a joint processing center for the City and Harris County jails. Parker stated that Houston is on a trajectory like no other city, with more than 364,000 jobs created in the last year, not to mention that Houston will host the Super Bowl in 2017.
Parker cited bike safety issues and expansion of Houston’s privately-funded B-Cycle bike share, and publicized the newly-created Sunday Streets HTX
program, where a designated street is shut down for four hours on the first Sunday of each month to encourage pedestrians and cyclists to explore all Houston has to offer. Parker also stated that she will continue to reduce emissions and work to solidify Houston’s reputation as a global arts destination. Parker also referenced Houston’s diversity and her plan to present a Civil Rights ordinance to City Council in the month of April.
Mayor Parker’s reflections on the state of homelessness in Houston may have had the most powerful impact on the audience. “Homelessness affects not just the individual, but the health of our community,” stated Parker, who added that in a “vibrant and prosperous city” such as Houston, we should readily help those who need a path to end their homelessness.
Since the introduction of the goal to end chronic homelessness by 2015, 1,420 chronic and vulnerable individuals have been placed into Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). Parker highlighted two individuals in particular who have been permanently housed: Alma and George. Alma, who has a college education, became homeless when she lost her job and had no one to call for help. When she heard the word that they had found her an apartment – a home – she fell to her knees and cried. George had been incarcerated for 32 years, and entered homelessness upon his release. George became housed, is a handyman at SEARCH Homeless Services, and now volunteers at the prison that was once his home.
Parker reflected on the entities that have come together in Houston to offer their skills and talents to end chronic homelessness. The Mayor’s Leadership Team, comprised of local and national players, works to oversee the system change that is happening in Houston. Parker also thanked Wells Fargo and Chevron, both of which have made significant contributions to help drive the system work. In addition to corporate and federal support, Mayor Parker herself has supplied incredible support to the Houston/Harris County Continuum of Care (CoC), as homeless service providers are coming together and collaborating in incredibly meaningful ways.
She ended with a challenge to others in the ballroom to step up and help end homelessness for some of our most vulnerable neighbors. As Parker ended her address, she described Houston as a city that “works for today, plans for tomorrow, and invests for the future,”
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.
