Q&A: Mental Health and Homelessness

Fryda Ochoa • May 31, 2023

May is Mental Health Awareness Month!

In honor of this month's observance, we wanted to spotlight our partners at the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD to learn more about the work they do as service providers for The Way Home. We were able to reach out to Amber Honsinger, a licensed professional counselor who currently serves as a Program Director in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Services (CPEP) Division for The Harris Center. Below, she provided more information on the link between mental health and homelessness.

  • Can you elaborate on your role and the work you do at the Harris Center? 

In my role I provide direct oversight to many of the programs within the CPEP Division that specialize in providing community-based services to those who experience or at risk of experiencing homelessness. I also oversee programs that partner with the Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff’s Office to provide collaborative, community-based services to individuals who have frequently engaged with law enforcement due to unmet, behavioral health needs.


  • What type of services does the Harris Center offer for those experiencing homelessness? 

The Harris Center is the state-designated Local Mental Health Authority and Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) Authority serving Harris County, Texas. As part of its mission to transform the lives of people with behavioral health and IDD needs, The Harris Center provides a full continuum of services at more than 80 different sites across Harris County. In addition, The Harris Center provides community-based, behavioral health and substance use support services to those experiencing homelessness across the County. 

  

The Homeless Outreach Team is a partnership between The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD and the Houston Police Department. The team provides collaborative outreach and engagement services to individuals experiencing homelessness in the City of Houston and connects individuals to PATH and/or other appropriate programs as needed.

  

Additionally, The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD developed teams such as The Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT) and the Navigation Center Support Team (NCST). NCST is embedded in the Navigation Center and provides mental health and substance use support services to individuals that have been removed from the streets of Houston during encampment decommissioning. NCST transitions each consumer to the BHRT that acts as an aftercare to the Navigation Support team by providing community based behavioral health and substance use support to individuals exiting the Navigation Center into housing as well as individuals who have been housed through other Way Home housing programs. The goal of these projects is to help individuals maintain housing by developing individualized plans based on the needs of each individual.
  • Can you tell us more about the work you do at the Navigation Center and how this partnership came about? 

The Navigation Center Support Team is a program operated by The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD and provides intensive care coordination services, crisis intervention, peer support, and substance use supports for individuals experiencing mental illness or substance use disorders who are temporarily residing at the City of Houston’s Navigation Center. All individuals with identified mental health or substance related concerns are eligible for services. Individuals are referred by Harmony House when they enroll in The Navigation Center. The Navigation Center Support Team works collaboratively with Harmony House and The Coalition for the Homeless on site, as well as all housing agencies connected to the Navigation Center. The team provides both individual and group services to improve mental health and wellness for all individuals at The Navigation Center with the goal of maintaining housing. Once an individual has been enrolled in services for approximately 21 days, a referral to the Behavioral Health Response Team is generated. The Behavioral Health Response Team initiates engagement with individuals while they are still at The Navigation Center to make the transition from the Navigation Center into housing smoother. The goal of both programs is to assist individuals experiencing homelessness with obtaining and maintaining housing. 

  • What is something that you wish more people knew about mental health and homelessness? 

I wish people understood the systemic complexities and barriers that limit access to support for individuals experiencing both mental illness and homelessness.  People fear what they don't understand and often perpetuate scenarios that leave the person experiencing homelessness to be predefined simply by their housing status. Not having a safe, stable home does not correlate with someone who is bad or scary, it correlates with a fellow human being needing additional support.  The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD has developed programs ensuring that additional support needed to help unhoused people reach mental wellness is delivered promptly with kindness, compassion and respect. Our goal is to help people find safety, security and peace in both their mental health and in their home. 

  • Are there any additional resources you can provide for others to learn more and find ways to help? 

For additional resources, you can visit https://www.theharriscenter.org/. You can also reach out by phone to our 24/7 Crisis Line at 713-970-7000 or you can text us at 832-479-2135 for basic emotional support.

*This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

CFTH Leads 2026 PIT Count of People Experiencing Homelessness

By Catherine Villarreal • February 24, 2026
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.

Preparing for a Winter Storm

By Catherine Villarreal • January 21, 2026
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.

Press Release: CFTH’S 2025 Point-in-Time Count Results Highlight Shifts in Homelessness Across Houston

By Fryda Ochoa • September 9, 2025
While our system has helped thousands of people move from homelessness to housing, this year’s results highlight the need to broaden our approach.
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