Council for the Homeless releases Point in Time data

The Council for the Homeless (CFTH) recently released data from the 2023 Point in Time count — a one-day census of persons experiencing homelessness and the programs available to assist them — held Jan. 26. The Point in Time (PIT) count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “It is critical that people understand the PIT is a snapshot of one day,” Charlene Welch, CFTH development and communications director, stated in a news release. “It does not illustrate the full picture of our Homeless Crisis Response System.” Welch said the public can learn more by attending CFTH’s webinar on June 27. To register for the webinar, visit councilforthehomeless.org/community-education. CFTH Executive Director Sesany Fennie-Jones stated that, “even though Clark County increased emergency shelter capacity, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased” during the most recent PIT count. Some factors that likely contributed to this increase, according to the CFTH news release, included: Due to a lack of affordable places to live, people are not as able to find a place to live and move out of emergency shelter. People remain highly vulnerable to the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Many have deferred health needs and lack of and/or lost income. Rent increases and market forces have led the Fair Market Rent for a one bedroom apartment in Clark County to cost $1,512 per month. The housing wage to afford this apartment paying 30% of income in rent is $29.08, according to the 2022 “Out of Reach Report” by the National Low Income Housing Alliance. According to the CFTH news release, people in emergency shelter increased 10% due to Bertha’s Place opening to full capacity in 2023, as well as the addition of the Hope Village Safe Stay shelter community; while people in temporary housing increased 9% from 2022. Additionally, the number of unsheltered people increased by 8% over the 2022 PIT count and chronically homeless, unsheltered individuals increased 78% from 2022. The number of unsheltered veterans increased 33% — from 24 in 2022 to 32 in 2023. On the flipside, the number of sheltered seniors aged 62 or older increased 17% as a result of prioritizing that population for the new Bertha’s Place shelters; and the number of unsheltered families decreased slightly, going from 46 in 2022 to 43 families in 2023. The news release added that five of those families were, however, identified as chronically homeless households. To peruse the complete data from the 2023 PIT count, visit councilforthehomeless.org/point-in-time-count.

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