Richardson ups homeless outreach and programs From the cover
Local programming Between 2024 and 2025, HELP program saw a 642.8% increase in homeless contacts.
Zooming in
At a glance
Along with regional participation, Richardson has increased programming aimed at addressing homelessness on a local level in the last three years. The Richardson Police Department’s Homeless Engagement and Liaison Program, or HELP, launched in late 2023. The program consists of six specialty trained police officers that conduct homeless outreach and engagement. Police Chief Gary Tittle said the goal is to be pro- active in cleaning up homeless encampments and directing unhoused individuals to resources.“It’s about engaging them and seeing what their story is, seeing what they need,” Tittle said. The program made contact with homeless individ- uals 1,740 times in 2025, more than seven times the amount from 2024. Tittle said that the program’s ability to provide resources has been limited since mid-2024, when nonprofit partner—Dallas-based nonprofit OurCall- ing, which connects unhoused individuals with resources—scaled back operations. “It’s really related to [OurCalling’s] lack of
1,740
For the fifth consecutive year, the number of homeless individuals in Dallas and Collin counties has decreased, according to Point in Time count numbers released by homelessness advocacy organization Housing Forward. In all, the total unhoused population in the region has decreased by 23% since 2021, and Housing Forward CEO Sarah Kahn partially credits the organization’s street outreach program that could soon expand beyond downtown Dallas to the rest of the metroplex. Of the 3,513 homeless individuals counted on Jan. 22, only 15 were in Richardson. Point in Time count numbers were released in mid- May. City Manager Don Magner said Richardson will continue homeless outreach “at the regional level.” The city joined Housing Forward in Dallas County and the Collin County Homeless Coalition—regional organizations geared toward supporting the homeless—in 2023.
2,000
1,500
1,000
256
229
500
0
2023
2024
2025
SOURCES: CITY OF RICHARDSON POLICE DEPARTMENT, HOUSING FORWARD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
resources,” Tittle said. “We’re essentially handing out resources that the individual has to go seek out instead of bringing the resources to them.” Additionally the city launched its Unhoused Internal Committee in 2025, which consists of city staff across nine departments. “It’s an effort to take what we’re learning at the regional level and distribute it to all of our depart- ments,” Assistant to the City Manager Riley Thoma- son said at a previous City Council meeting.
Dallas, Collin county combined homelessness count
By the numbers
Unsheltered Sheltered
Richardson PIT count 2023 2024
Of the 15 unhoused individuals identified in Richardson on Jan. 22, 12 were over the age of 35. The PIT Count provides a “snapshot of the individuals and families experiencing homelessness over the course of one night,” according to the Texas Homeless Network. Participation in the count is necessary for securing federal funds that support homelessness initiatives.
On Jan. 22, 2026, 15 people were identified as homeless in Richardson. That was an increase from seven identified in the 2025 Point in Time count, which occurs annually in cities across the state.
2025
2026
2021 2022
2024 2023
2025 2026
SOURCE: HOUSING FORWARD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: HOUSING FORWARD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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