Office to Prevent and End Homelessness

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our office is open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday
703-246-5000 TTY 711
3700 Pender Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
Thomas Barnett
Deputy Director

Department Resources

Point-in-Time Count - 2024

Fairfax County, in coordination with the surrounding Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, conducted its 2024 Point-In-Time Count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness on January 24, 2024. 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 1,278 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County on the night of the 2024 Point-in-Time Count. This is a decrease of 2 percent (32 people) from the 2023 Point-in-Time Count, in which there were 1,310 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 2024 Point-in-Time Counts;
  • The Point-in-Time Count demographics between 2017 and 2024; and
  • The shelter and housing capacity compiled as part of the Housing Inventory Counts conducted between 2005 and 2024.

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.

 

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.

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

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.

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 2024 Point-in-Time Count

  • Total Count: There were 1,278 people experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2024 Point-in-Time Count.  This is a decrease of 2 percent (32 people) from the 2023 Point-in-Time Count in which there were 1,310 people identified as experiencing homelessness.

  • Overall Trend: 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 counts increased 27 percent (258 people) between 2017 and 2021 and then decreased 3 percent (31 people) in 2022 before another increase in 2023 (10 percent; 119 people). The overall decrease in 2024 is primarily driven by the lower number of families in shelter (facilities and motels) and the lower number of unsheltered individuals.

  • Different Trends by Household Type: The number of people in families with children experiencing homelessness decreased by 8 percent (58 people) between the 2023 and 2024 counts.  This decrease is attributed partially to improved and increased diversion efforts through which families’ housing crisis is resolved without needing to go to a shelter. Enhanced eviction prevention efforts, such as emergency rental assistance, landlord and tenant outreach, and increased legal assistance, have also reduced the demand for family shelter. Meanwhile, the number of single adults experiencing homelessness increased by 5 percent (26 people) during the same time.

    • Subpopulations

      • Chronic Homelessness: There were 257 adults identified as experiencing chronic homelessness during the 2023 Point-in-Time Count (30 percent of the total adults counted) and 192 adults identified to be experiencing chronic homelessness during the 2024 Point-in-Time Count (22 percent of total adults counted).

      • Veterans: There were 34 people that identified as veterans identified during the 2023 Point-in-Time Count (4 percent of the total adults counted) and 26 people that identified as veterans during the 2024 Point-in-Time Count (3 percent of total adults counted).

      • Transition Age Youth (18-24): There were 73 transition aged youth identified during the 2023 Point-in-Time Count (9 percent of the total adults) and 53 transition aged youth identified during the 2024 Point-in-Time Count (6 percent of total adults).

      • Survivors of Domestic Violence: There were 87 households identified as currently fleeing domestic violence and 227 households that reported a history of domestic violence during the 2023 Point-in-Time Count (11 percent and 30 percent of total households counted).  There were 59 households identified as currently fleeing domestic violence and 194 households that reported a history of domestic violence during the 2024 Point-in-Time Count (8 percent and 25 percent of the total households counted).

    • Demographics
      • Race: The most significant disparity in the demographics of those experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2024 Point-in-Time Count remains the disproportionate representation of people identifying as Black or African American. While 10.9 percent of the general population in Fairfax County is estimated to identify as Black or African American, 48 percent of people experiencing homelessness on the night of the count identified as Black, African American, or African.  The imbalance remained the same as in the 2023 count, when 48 percent of people identified as Black or African American.
      • Age: There were 19 individuals aged 70 years and above experiencing homelessness on the night of the 2024 Point-in-Time Count (2 percent of the total adults), including an individual in emergency shelter at the age of 98 years old. 

In contrast to the Point-in-Time Count, it is important to note that the number of people experiencing homelessness over a full year is higher.  Fairfax County reported to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for federal fiscal year 2023 ending in September that the total number of sheltered homeless persons, not including dedicated domestic violence shelters, was 3,616 people.  Meanwhile, Fairfax County Public Schools report that a total of 2,019 students have been identified as homeless over the school year so far as of April 24, 2024, as defined by the US Department of Education’s broader “homeless” definition.

Council of Governments (COG) PIT Report

Data from Fairfax County is part of a regional analysis and annual report on homelessness by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee. Concerned by the lack of regional data available, COG undertook the first effort to produce a Point-in-Time count of homeless adults and children in metropolitan Washington in 2001. Learn more at mwcog.org/homelessnessreport.  ​

Archived 2023 Point-in-Time Count

To view the archived 2023 Point-in-Time Count, please click here.

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