State of Homelessness Event Looks to the Future of Homelessness in Houston Region
Communications Admin • June 15, 2018
The Coalition for the Homeless held a State of Homelessness breakfast event at the Junior League of Houston on May 23. The event featured a panel discussion as well as the results of the 2018 Homeless Count & Survey.
Nearly 100 community stakeholders from partner agencies of The Way Home, local government agencies, and the business and philanthropic community attended the event, eager to learn more about the future of The Way Home, the region’s homeless response system. Panelists at the event included Marilyn Brown (President/CEO, Coalition for the Homeless), Robert Pulster (Regional Coordinator, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness), and Eva Thibaudeau, LMSW (Vice President of Programs, Coalition).
The panel, moderated by Kaitlin Monte (Fox 26), began with a look back on the work of The Way Home, including successes to-date. Thibaudeau spoke to the incredible collaboration of the local homeless service nonprofits – may of whom attended the event – and how their willingness to think outside the box led to many of our community’s successes. Pulster reminded those in the room that, although homelessness in Houston can feel overwhelming, Houston has led and continues to lead the nation on solving homelessness through innovative partnerships and an incredible “yes” culture.
Brown revealed the 2018 Homeless Count & Survey results
which showed an increase for the first time since 2011. The majority of the increase was seen in the unsheltered homeless population, and 18% of unsheltered homeless individuals surveyed during the Count reported that their homelessness was due to Hurricane Harvey.
“Hurricane Harvey was a major disrupter to the work of The Way Home, both in terms of diverting resources and contributing to the increase in unsheltered homelessness,” said Brown. “In just 41 days, partners of The Way Home shifted resources to successfully prevent homelessness for nearly 1,000 people who had nowhere to go after the storm. But it was a major disruption to the homeless programs already in place and a devastating distraction from our planned work in 2018.”
With an eye to the future, Pulster shared insights about an anticipated update to the federal plan on ending homelessness and what that might mean for the Houston area. Our region can expect that individuals experiencing non-chronic homelessness will be one subpopulation of focus in the future. Brown and Thibaudeau reiterated the importance that all of the partners in this work need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and continue to come to the table to end homelessness.
“We’ve proven that we have a greater impact when our voices are united, when we’re at the table together, and when we are working together toward our common goals,” said Brown.
The Coalition also announced the launch of The Way Home’s new Facebook page
at the event. As lead agency to The Way Home, the Coalition will manage this new social media channel as a collective space where partners can share and post their success stories and how their organizations and staff are committing to the work to end homelessness through #2020AndBeyond! For more information about engaging on this new channel, visit our digital toolkit: https://bit.ly/TWHToolkit.
When someone experiences homelessness, the right solution is not always a long-term housing program. Sometimes a person needs help replacing an ID, reconnecting with family, finding an affordable shared home or overcoming another immediate barrier. That idea guided CFTH Presents: Building Better Pathways — Creating Faster Routes to Stability . The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) hosted the discussion with leaders who oversee and carry out Rapid Resolutions across The Way Home, the Houston region’s homeless response system.
When most people think about homelessness, they picture someone sleeping outside or staying in a shelter. But homelessness often begins much earlier. A new survey from Rice University's Kinder Institute estimates that more than 140,000 adults across Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties experienced temporary homelessness during the past year. Many of these individuals never slept outside. They stayed with friends or family because they had nowhere else to go, paid for motel rooms when they could, slept in their vehicles or found other temporary ways to get by. For those of us working in Houston's homeless response system, the estimate did not come as a surprise. What stands out is the scale. Our 2026 State of Homelessness report found that nearly 36,000 people interacted with The Way Home, Houston's regional homeless response system, during 2025. The Kinder estimate shows a much larger group of households struggling before they ever reach organizations like ours. Those numbers do not compete with one another. They tell the story of different points along the same continuum. By the time someone decides whether to enter a shelter or sleep outside, opportunities to prevent homelessness have often passed. The homeless response system helps people regain stability after they are in a shelter or on the street. Prevention happens months earlier, while people are still trying to hold on to their housing. Most people do not ask for help at the first sign of trouble. They work extra hours. They borrow money from family. They juggle bills. They hope next month's paycheck will solve this month's problem. Like most of us would, they try to solve the problem themselves. By the time they reach out, they often need far more help than they would have needed just a few months earlier. That is why Houston's prevention network is so important. Organizations like United Way of Greater Houston connect residents with rental assistance, utility assistance, benefits navigation and other resources that help stabilize households before they lose their housing. If you are struggling to keep up with rent, utilities or other essential expenses, do not wait until you have exhausted every option. Reaching out early gives providers more opportunities to help and gives families more options to stay housed. The Kinder research also reinforces another reality facing our region: We need more affordable housing. More than 140,000 adults experienced temporary homelessness in a single year because too many households live one unexpected expense away from losing their housing. That number points to a much larger population searching for homes they can afford long before they need homeless services. Houston's homeless response system continues to produce strong outcomes. More than 2,100 households moved into permanent housing during 2025, and 85% of those who exited homelessness two years ago remain housed today. At the same time, more than 7,100 people slept in shelters or on the street for the first time in 2025. Those numbers show that while our homeless response system continues to help thousands of people regain stability, new households continue to enter homelessness every day. The Kinder research gives Houston something we have not had before: a clearer picture of the households struggling before homelessness becomes visible. The Way Home will always play a critical role in helping people regain stability, but we also need to help more people before they ever need those services. That means strengthening prevention programs, expanding affordable housing and making it easier for people to ask for help early. Houston has repeatedly shown that when our community understands a challenge, it comes together to solve it. This research gives us a better understanding of where the next challenge begins.
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