Office to Prevent and End Homelessness

Fairfax County, Virginia

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our office is open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday

703-246-5000
TTY 711

OPEHGeneralMail@fairfaxcounty.gov

3700 Pender Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030

Thomas Barnett,
Deputy Director

Department Resources

Point-in-Time Count

Fairfax County, in coordination with the surrounding Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, conducted its 2022 Point-In-Time Count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness on January 26, 2022. This highly coordinated effort provides critical data on the numbers of Fairfax County residents living in shelters, in time-limited transitional housing programs as well as those unsheltered and living on the street in the Fairfax-Falls Church community. There were 1,191 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County on the night of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count. This is a decrease of 3 percent (31 people) from the 2021 Point-in-Time Count, in which there were 1,222 people identified as experiencing homelessness.

The Point-in-Time Count dashboard (see below) includes:

The total number of people identified as experiencing homelessness between the 2005 and 2022 Point-in-Time Counts;
The Point-in-Time Count demographics between 2017 and 2022; and
The shelter and housing capacity compiled as part of the Housing Inventory Counts conducted between 2005 and 2022.

Dashboard Tips:

For full screen view, CLICK HERE.
Data can be viewed by different characteristics such as year, population, or project type.
Note, there are three screens of data available; click the ">" below to advance to each screen.

What is the Point-in-Time Count?

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is a count of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires Continuums of Care across the country to conduct this annual count of people experiencing homelessness, which includes people in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and safe havens as well as those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally.

Why is the Point-in-Time Count conducted?

Point-in-time counts provide a snapshot of the number of people experiencing homelessness, which frames the dimensions of the problem of homelessness and helps policymakers and program administrators track progress toward the goal of ending homelessness. The first of these counts was conducted across the country starting in 2005. HUD uses information from the local point-in-time counts, among other data sources, in the congressionally-mandated Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR). This report informs Congress about the number of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. and the effectiveness of HUD’s programs and policies in decreasing those numbers.

For more information: PIT and HIC Guides, Tools, and Webinars - HUD Exchange

Who conducts the Point-in-Time Count?

Conducting the enumeration requires extensive efforts by a wide range of community partners, involving dozens of staff from public and private nonprofit organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness in the Fairfax-Falls Church community. Approximately 100 individuals are trained annually to conduct the count and utilize the Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) and other comparable databases to record the results of the PIT Survey. In the most recent Point-in-Time Count, 12 agencies reported data from more than 40 projects, which was unduplicated to produce the final totals.

What is the Housing Inventory Count?

The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a point-in-time inventory of provider programs within a Continuum of Care that provide beds and units dedicated to serve people experiencing homelessness and, for permanent housing projects, were homeless at entry, per the HUD homeless definition. Emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and other permanent housing projects are included in the Housing Inventory Count.

The Housing Inventory Count provides the Shelter and Housing Capacity. When compared to the Point-in-Time Count, it helps to tell the story of how the capacity impacts homelessness. In the most recent Housing Inventory Count, 15 agencies reported capacity data for more than 100 projects.

For more information: PIT and HIC Guides, Tools, and Webinars - HUD Exchange

Key Findings of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count

Total Count: There were 1,191 people experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count. This is a decrease of 3 percent (31 people) from the 2021 Point-in-Time Count in which there were 1,222 people identified as experiencing homelessness.
Annual Point-in-Time Count Trends: After a steady reduction of people experiencing homelessness on the night of the Point-in-Time Counts between 2008 and 2017, a decrease of 47 percent (871 people), the number of people experiencing homelessness identified through the Point-in-Time Counts increased between 2017 and 2021. The decrease of 3 percent (31 people) between the 2021 and 2022 Point-in-Time Counts is the first decrease of people identified as experiencing homelessness since the 2016 Point-in-Time Count.
- Subpopulations
  - Chronic Homelessness: There were 327 adults identified as experiencing chronic homelessness during the 2021 Point-in-Time Count (35 percent of total adults counted) and 282 adults identified as experiencing chronic homelessness during the 2022 Point-in-Time Count (33 percent of the total adults counted).
  - Veterans: There were 48 people that identified as veterans during the 2021 Point-in-Time Count (5 percent of total adults counted) and 32 people that identified as veterans during the 2022 Point-in-Time Count (4 percent of the total adults counted).
  - Transition Age Youth (18-24): There were 91 transition aged youth (persons between the ages of 18 and 24) identified during the 2021 Point-in-Time Count (10 percent of total adults counted) and there were also 91 transition aged youth identified during the 2022 Point-in-Time Count (8 percent of the total adults counted).
  - Survivors of Domestic Violence: There were 97 households identified as currently fleeing domestic violence and 183 households that reported a history of domestic violence during the 2021 Point-in-Time Count (11 percent and 21 percent of total households counted). There were 115 households identified as currently fleeing domestic violence and 220 households that reported a history of domestic violence during the 2022 Point-in-Time Count (15 percent and 28 percent of total households counted).
- Demographics
  - Race: The most significant disparity in the demographics of those experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count is the disproportionate representation of people identifying as Black or African American. Although only 10% of the general population in Fairfax County identifies as Black or African American, 50 percent of the people experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count identified as Black or African American. This imbalance has not improved over time.
  - Age: There were 30 individuals aged 70 years and above experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count (3 percent of the total adults), including an individual in emergency shelter at the age of 96 years old.

Council of Governments (COG) PIT Report

The regional Point-in-Time Count results from the nine metropolitan Washington area jurisdictions are compiled in a Report prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee. The Homeless Enumeration Report provides a one-night “snapshot” of the region’s residents experiencing homelessness as well as a narrative from each participating jurisdiction, including Fairfax County, detailing the results of the local 2022 Point-in-Time Counts.