Staff Spotlight: Meet Nancy Heintz!
Communications Admin • November 29, 2018
Nancy Heintz, Project Manager for Montgomery County with the Coalition, started with the organization in August of 2016. Originally from Conroe, Texas, Nancy said her experience volunteering with, and becoming President of the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition, is what led her to the role she’s in today.
Abbie: Can you tell me about your role as Montgomery County Project Manager and what it entails?
Nancy: As the Montgomery County Project Manager, I help people in Montgomery County understand the work being done with and through The Way Home. Montgomery County didn’t join The Way Home until 2016 – way after Harris and Fort Bend County had already been working together. So, most of my time is spent bringing groups together for conversation in Montgomery County and getting them up-to-speed. I also help facilitate conversations for peer support for best practices and how to model the work being done, you know kind of connecting the dots for folks and what is available for them – both organizations and people experiencing homelessness alike.
Abbie: What made you decide to work in the homeless service system?
Nancy: I had prior experience volunteering for the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition as part of outreach for my ministry and was President for them as well. I had worked for the church for 30 years and my job there was ending. I think it was kind of a God thing because my job there ended on a Monday, and I was hired on at the Coalition for the Homeless by Friday. At the time Eva (Vice President of Programs for the Coalition) wanted to create a staff position for someone who actually lives in Montgomery County as a way to connect agencies with the work of The Way Home, and it ended up working out!
Abbie: Are there any projects you are currently working on?
Nancy: Right now, the regional team is working with school districts and their data sharing when it comes to the annual Homeless Count & Survey. We’re also focusing on this new connection with the justice system and some of their issues they may have when it comes to criminal activity and homelessness, and how it all relates.
Abbie: What would you say your favorite thing about working for the Coalition is?
Nancy: I think it’s been a new learning curve for me which has made me want to work longer. I also really just enjoy the atmosphere here and being able to see what happening and what is going to happen in the homeless service system.
Abbie: What has been your favorite project you’ve been a part of so far?
Nancy: I think I would have to say the Coordinated Access Assessment of chronically homeless individuals which has resulted in them being housed with Volunteers of America (VOA). Those are the kind of results that will add a lot of weight to our conversation and can show the change that can have a great impact.
Abbie: Now for a more light-hearted question, if you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Nancy: I think I would have to say Martin Luther King Jr. He was such a peaceful change-maker. I would have loved to have some sort of engagement with him or even hear him speak in person. To be at his “I Have A Dream” Speech in Washington D.C. would have just been incredible.
Abbie: Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
Nancy: Well my grandkids are kind of the fun thing about me right now! Being able to be a Nan for them. I have three and they’re all little, their ages are about one and a half to five years old.
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.
