On what promises to be a brutally cold night around the District, volunteers will be on the streets for an annual count of D.C.’s homeless population.
The annual count is led by the nonprofit , and they鈥檒l be out counting and gathering other data on the city鈥檚 homeless population between around 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Recent years have shown encouraging progress in the fight against homelessness.
Advocates say the total number of homeless residents has been dropping significantly since 2016 鈥� by 73% 鈥� and last year alone, the survey noted a 20% decline in homelessness in DC from 2020.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 driven primarily by very large reductions in family homelessness,鈥� said Christy Respress, the executive director of Pathways for Housing DC. 鈥淲here we have been stagnant is in ending homelessness for single adults.鈥�
While last year鈥檚 survey found a 20% overall drop, the number of homeless people sleeping on the streets went up about 4%, and those tend to be the single adults who are on their own. They鈥檙e also the most visible examples of homelessness in the city.
鈥淢ost people experiencing homelessness in the region aren鈥檛 actually sleeping outside,鈥� said Respress. Most are actually in shelters.
鈥淭he majority of people sleeping outside, actually almost all, are either single adults or youth experiencing homelessness,鈥� she added.
So what are they bracing for this year?
鈥淲e are anticipating, we believe, some higher numbers of people just from what we鈥檝e seen throughout the year of people sleeping literally outside,鈥� Respress said.
But she noted that with a boost in federal and local investment, there鈥檚 optimism that the overall number may have declined again.
鈥淲e always hold our breath,鈥� Respress said.
This year, Amerigroup DC will be out with those volunteers handing out items like socks, hats, gloves and hand warmers, 鈥渢hings that we know this community needs,鈥� said Charmekia Martin, the strategic engagement director for Amerigroup DC. 鈥淭he needs that fit the climate.鈥�
Why is this annual count so important?
鈥淲e need to hold ourselves accountable as a community to reaching our goals to end homelessness,鈥� Respress said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e not tracking that progress, or lack of progress every year, we鈥檙e not able to figure out what different resources do we need to allocate, how do we change our strategies?
鈥淭he goal is ending homelessness so if we don鈥檛 measure that progress then we鈥檙e really doing a disservice to our community and to our neighbors on the street.鈥�
