According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) Point in Time Survey that was conducted Jan. 24, 250 more Montgomery County residents are experiencing homelessness than were in the 2023 count.
The one-night snapshot of homelessness in the Washington, D.C. area has been conducted for 24 years and merely marks who was homeless or in a shelter that evening.
Volunteers and staff involved in helping the homeless found 1,144 people that evening, which is an increase of 250 people.
Between 2020 and 2024, the number of homeless jumped by 71% in Montgomery County. That is partly due to the extreme measures taken during the pandemic to help stop the spread of Covid-19 and a reduction in federal funding pandemic relief dollars.
Throughout the D.C., Northern Virginia and Montgomery County area, 9,774 were reported homeless, which is an increase of 1,078 from 2023, according to the Point in Time survey. That is a 12% increase.
The number of families experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County jumped 116% from 2020 to this year.
With a population of 1.1 million, that means 1.1% of the population is experiencing homelessness.
One positive note is that the area continues to increase the number of people transitioning from chronic homelessness and into permanent housing with social services.
“We have seen steady progress in housing support services that transition our residents experiencing homelessness into safe, affordable, permanent housing. But the need in our communities is great, and only with substantial and sustained investments into these programs will our region effectively make the experience of homelessness brief, rare, and non-recurring,” said Rodney Lusk, Chair of the COG Human Services Policy Committee.
According to the definitions in the COG report, the people included in these counts are living on the streets or in parks, alleys and campsites or staying in emergency or hypothermia shelters or safe haven. They are living in transitional housing and receiving supportive services and those in permanent housing while still receiving supportive social services.
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