Sister City Visits Houston, Supports the Coalition After Harvey
Communications Admin • March 12, 2018
On February 16, the Coalition for the Homeless was part of a Sister City tour of Houston with a delegation from Leipzig, Germany. Leipzig and Houston have been sister cities for 25 years, and much like Houston to the United States, Leipzig plays a leading role in Germany through a thriving technological research industry and its appreciation of the arts.
The Coalition was first approached by Leipzig during our work on the Housing For Harvey program. The City of Leipzig and its Sister City Committee saw the devastation done to Houston and reached out to local agencies about our city’s immediate needs and ways they could help.
The Coalition was chosen as one of the beneficiaries of funds raised from a concert that took place at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Donations received from the concert surpassed €26,000 (that’s more than $32,000!), showing us that even though they were an ocean away, our global connection still made a difference in a time of need.
There were 25 members of the delegation from Leipzig, including Mr. Thomas H. Meister, the Consular General of Germany in Houston. Our President/CEO Marilyn Brown presented to our Sister City travelers about the work of the Coalition, followed by a brief Q&A that allowed the travelers to ask questions about how their donation was being used and ways we could partner in the future.
We are so thankful for the support of our Sister City and look forward to strengthening our bond with them. Though we hope the need will never arise, we know that Houston will always be there should Leipzig ever need our assistance.
We want to give a special thanks to the Board of the Sister City Organization, Beverly Davis, Lutheran Disaster Response of America, the German Consulate in Houston, and the entire City of Leipzig for their unwavering generosity and belief in the work that we do.
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.
