The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing has requested an exception to not participate in the unsheltered count for 2021. Please click here to read our announcement.

Every two years, during the last ten days of January, communities across the country conduct comprehensive counts of the local population experiencing homelessness. Point-in-Time (PIT) Counts measure the prevalence of homelessness in each community and collect information on individuals and families residing in emergency shelters and transitional housing, as well as on people sleeping on the streets, in cars, abandoned properties, or other places not meant for human habitation.

The Point-in-Time Count is the only source of nationwide data on sheltered and unsheltered homelessness and is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of all jurisdictions receiving federal funding to provide housing and services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Currently, the San Francisco Continuum of Care (CoC) receives over $44 million dollars annually in federal funding, a key source of funding for the county’s homeless services. Continuums of Care report the findings of their local Point-in-Time Count annually to HUD. This information ultimately helps the federal government to better understand the nature and extent of homelessness nationwide. Count data also help to inform communities’ local strategic planning, capacity building, and advocacy campaigns to prevent and end homelessness

Reports from San Francisco’s  previous PIT counts can be found here: https://hsh.sfgov.org/about/research-and-reports/san-francisco-homeless-point-in-time-count-reports/