Staff Spotlight: Yvette Fuentes

This August we are resuming our Staff Spotlight blog feature and we are excited to introduce you to one of our outstanding team members, Yvette Fuentes! A Houston native, Yvette has been at the Coalition for seven years. She is a Program Analyst on our Homeless Management Information (HMIS) team meaning she does secondary research on HUD reporting and trend analyses. Yvette also reviews and updates data in real time, troubleshoots data issues with partner agency staff members, and provides recommendations for system improvements.

Find out why Yvette loves working at the Coalition and what makes her Yvette!

Q: What made you want to work in the area of homelessness?

A: I am a very compassionate person and since 1997 I’ve been privileged to work in the non-profit sector with 4 different agencies (United Way, DePelchin Children’s Center, Catholic Charities and now the Coalition!) each having a its own piece in homelessness prevention. Towards the end of working at my last job the trend was moving towards Rapid Re-housing and Coordinated Access so that and the fact that I had used HMIS since 2006 made for an easy transition to work at the Coalition.

Q: What are some projects you are working on right now?

A: Right now, I am working on Coordinated Access Supportive Service grants and preparing data for the upcoming Annual Performance Reports (APR)*. Typically, my work at the beginning of the month also includes running reports and troubleshooting any data issues that need to be corrected.

Q: What is the most inspiring part of your job?

A: Hope is the most inspiring part of my job. Due to my role of being behind the data I rarely interact with clients (something I miss). Prior to the COVID pandemic, the Coalition coordinated a few Housing Events that I was able to assist with. While working those events I was able to witness clients being housed, view the excitement in their eyes and for those waiting on the call, see the hope in their eyes, which makes everything we do, worth it.

Q: If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?

A: For me because I cook dinner every night my superpower would be to have dinner cooked every night. For the world, I’d want my superpower to be able to place peace in everyone’s heart. No matter the situation, I want everyone to be at peace.

Q: Do you have any hobbies outside of work?

A: I fish pretty much every weekend, so it is safe to say fishing is my hobby. I fish at a house on Tiki Beach which we are fortunate enough to use and even during the pandemic, are able to practice social distancing.

Q: How has COVID impacted your life outside of work?

A: COVID has humbled me. Living so carefree, coming and going was the way I used to live. Now realizing my actions of being out don’t just impact me, but also my parents who I visit daily and my husband who has underlying health conditions. This was our first year being empty nesters and my son was living away from home at college. Then, he came home in March for Spring Break and never went back due to COVID. I was literally about to start counting down the days for him to go back, but I’ve come to realize that I don’t think I could have done COVID without him here.

Q: What song best describes your life?

A: This is a tie between “Let it Go” by George Strait or “Here for a Good Time” also by George Strait.

Q: Tell us one fun fact about yourself!

A: I seem to be the person who people give their pets to. Right now, I have 4 pets but my Great Dane Tre is the only one I went out and got. We are now lucky enough to have these additional fur babies:

Gracie, a Great Dane whose family relocated and couldn’t take her with them
Carol, my son’s cat, who moved back home with him but then, when he left, I had fallen in love with so couldn’t part with her
Cheyenne a yellow Lab who we had as a puppy and has again moved back in with us

I’m the first person who people from the neighborhood call when they know someone is looking for a home for a pet!

*Annual Performance Reports are self-assessments that direct-service agencies who receive funding from the US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) prepare ahead of funding competitions.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

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.