County Survey Finds 23 Percent Decline in Homelessness

Montgomery County said Thursday the number of homeless people in its “point in time” survey decreased 23 percent.

The county conducts the annual survey, counting the number of homeless people on one night, which was Jan. 23. The survey found 647 people who were homeless, compared to 840 people in 2019, a county statement said.

The decline in homelessness can be attributed to the reallocation and investment of funding toward permanent housing and the county’s “Inside Not Outside” campaign to end chronic homelessness, the statement said.

Providers have removed barriers to housing, enhanced outreach and created a list to identify, track and follow those identified as chronically homeless or “at risk of chronic homelessness.”

As of April 26, 413 chronically homeless individuals have been placed in permanent housing.

“The partnership between our county programs and nonprofit partners who work every day of the year to end homelessness is a statement of the values we hold as a community,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement.

Data from Montgomery County is part of a regional analysis and report by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

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.

To read COG’s report, click here.

Though Montgomery County achieved the goal of ending veteran homelessness in December 2015, sustaining the goal requires continual monitoring and commitment of resources.

The county said that during the 2019 count, 13 homeless veterans were counted, the same number as the 2018 count. As of April 12, four of the veterans have been housed and six are approved for housing.

For more information on the  county’s services, click here.

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