This year – with a new approach being implemented locally – the PIT count can be a real opportunity for community members to get closer to the suffering on our streets. More than any other volunteer experience, the PIT count creates a space where volunteers can really see the true nature of homelessness. Participants are partnered with trained professionals and head out into the places where people are experiencing homelessness, fostering meaningful connections.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its annual homelessness assessment report... the report found that 771,480 people experienced homelessness in 2024, the highest number ever recorded in the United States. Given the continued severity of the affordable housing crisis and the ever-growing cost of living, this tragic result is unsurprising.
Given the factors and the reality that the federal government hasn't ever meaningfully reacted to these numbers with more funding, the question of what we really get – other than describing the water for the people who are drowning – looms large. For years, many have criticized PIT counts as our primary data collection tool.
The methodology used in PIT counts tends to significantly underestimate the total population, while also ignoring current and significant trends that may impact the results. Critics argue that we need to rethink how we assess homelessness in order to address its root causes more effectively.
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