DAYTON, OH (March 24, 2023) – Montgomery County released results from the 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count of homelessness on Thursday. The PIT overnight, conducted Jan. 26, included 790 people, 106 of whom were unsheltered. This is a 23 percent increase from the 2020 pre-pandemic PIT Count total and a 114 percent increase in the number of persons sleeping unsheltered.

“It’s important to remember that each number included in this conversation represents a person who is a part of this community and deserves to be counted,” said Commissioner Carolyn Rice. “No one should have to sleep on the street. Everyone deserves the basic right of having safe, affordable housing.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires a count of sheltered and unsheltered people to take place during the last 10 days of January to ensure consistency across the country. The number is used to help communities understand how the need compares to available inventory of shelter, housing and services.

The following table shows data from the last five years of the PIT:

*In 2021, Montgomery County, like many communities across the country, received a waiver from HUD and did not conduct an unsheltered count due to COVID-19.

For the unsheltered count, volunteers searched both known and possible locations, including abandoned or vacant properties, cars, woods, park benches and underpasses. It also identified individuals at area meal and services sites who indicated they were sleeping in an unsheltered situation.

For the sheltered count, individuals included were those sleeping in an emergency shelter such as Daybreak, Gettysburg Shelter for Men, Holt Street, St. Vincent de Paul Shelter for Women & Families and the YWCA Dayton Domestic Violence Shelter.

“The issues contributing to homelessness are multi-faceted, so the solutions must be multi-faceted,” said Jessica Jenkins, Director of Human Services Planning and Development (HSPD). “This includes addressing disparities in the system, connecting people with services, increasing collaboration across departments and agencies to fill gaps and, most importantly, increasing the availability of affordable housing.”

Possible factors contributing to this could include the end of the eviction moratorium, rising housing costs, inflation and comparatively stagnant wages. Montgomery County is also still facing the impact of the 2019 tornadoes and the subsequent loss of thousands of affordable housing units.

Montgomery County’s Continuum of Care includes several resources designed to meet people where they are and to connect them with services. People at-risk of losing housing or needing help finding permanent shelter again are encouraged to check out the help available on the County’s Housing Assistance Resources page.

Individuals interested in helping to end homelessness are encouraged to contact the Homeless Solutions Policy Board (HSPB) or any of Montgomery County’s partners featured on the Get Involved>Give Back page

###