BY CASSANDRA JENKINS & KEVIN VU
Assessing the need
Looking ahead
Coalition volunteers conducted the 2025 count in January, and although the results won’t be released until spring, Villarreal said she believes the results may show an incline in the homeless population. She said the increase could be due to the loss of federal COVID-19 funds, which have been sustain- ing homelessness programs since 2021.
According to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count and Survey conducted by the Coalition for the Homeless, an annual event where volunteers count sheltered and unsheltered individuals on a single night, approximately 2,939 people experi- ence homelessness in Harris County with 32% of individuals unsheltered.
Nichols said the city will begin to distribute the $70 million as funds become available, however the initial plan only covers the next one to two years. He said the administration will begin to look for long-term sustainable sources in the meantime from entities such as: • The Texas Legislature • The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development • Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones • Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County As a last resort, Nichols said the administration could also seek to ask Houston residents to increase the city’s revenue cap to fund the plan, which has been intact since 2004.
Unsheltered: Individuals who are living outdoors in places not intended for human habitation
Sheltered: Individuals experiencing homelessness who are staying in a temporary housing facility
4,000
31% decrease over the last six years
3,000
2,000
7.7% decrease over the last six years
1,000
SOURCE: COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS OF HOUSTON/HARRIS COUNTY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
0
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
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HEIGHTS - RIVER OAKS - MONTROSE EDITION
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