Each year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires every Continuum of Care—more than four hundred service organizations for the homeless nationwide—to conduct a Point-in-Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness.
The 2023 PIT count reported a sharp increase in the number of homeless and the highest number yet since the HUD began reporting these figures in 2007. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the rates of increase. Further, policies targeting eviction, housing, and income protection that were adopted during the pandemic are now expiring.
The recent increase in homeless numbers reflects the need for more resources and a greater focus on the factors that contribute to homelessness.
The information on the attached infographic is based on the information from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates. You can find more information here.