A growing number of Houstonians are living on the street, and there\u2019s a big factor playing into the rise.<\/p>\n
The number of available beds for the region\u2019s homeless population has plummeted to the lowest level in at least two decades, as providers have increasingly struggled to keep shelters open and running at full capacity, according to data collected for the federal Housing Inventory Count<\/a>.<\/p>\n About 2,600 temporary beds were available in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties as of January, a 13% decline from early 2024, when local providers tallied about 3,000 beds. Local organizations count the number of available beds each January.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The loss of beds coincided with an increase of unsheltered individuals<\/a>, whose population rose from about 1,100 in early 2024 to nearly 1,300 in January, according to the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston\/Harris County\u2019s annual point-in-time count. It is a setback for a region that had been successful in curbing homelessness<\/a> in recent years; the unsheltered population had dropped for two consecutive years after hovering around 1,500 for several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines unsheltered homelessness<\/a> as sleeping in vehicles, abandoned buildings, farms or the wilderness.<\/p>\n The latest data also offers context to the city of Houston\u2019s controversial purchase authorized Wednesday<\/a> of a $16 million property in East Downtown that will provide 150 to 225 beds for people without homes, with no requirements for entry.<\/p>\n Renee Cavazos, the vice president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston\/Harris County\u2019s homeless response team, said the decline in beds follows short-term funding sources expiring, and a number of shelters reducing capacity or closing in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of the shelter programs within our region are privately funded,\u201d she said. \u201cAs the economy shifts, priorities shift within planning and funding for shelters, and they have to make tough decisions on what\u2019s best for them and their operations.\u201d<\/p>\n No vacancy in Houston<\/p>\n For the past decade, the Houston region\u2019s number of beds has consistently ranged between about 2,700 and 3,400 spread across dozens of shelters.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most beds are housed in emergency shelters, which are designed to provide a short-term reprieve. Nearly all of the rest are in transitional housing facilities, where people might stay longer while working toward establishing permanent housing.<\/p>\n This January, the sheltered population in Houston was evenly split between men and women, with families making up nearly 40% of the total. Men made up about three-quarters of the unsheltered population.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The availability of beds, combined with strong regional coordination and a push to put people in permanent housing, helped Houston cut its homeless population from about 8,500 to 3,300 over the past 15 years.<\/p>\n But a combination of factors \u2014 including fluctuations in private donations, shifting federal grants and rising costs \u2014 are weighing on homeless shelter operators.\u00a0<\/p>\n