The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments recently released data showing a rise in homelessness after several years indicated a decrease.
The results of the 2023 Point in Time Count, an annual census of people experiencing homelessness in the district, were released to the public on Wednesday. The statistics showed an overall 11.6% increase from 2022, which reported the lowest numbers in over two decades. The new numbers underscore the need for officials to continue in efforts to combat the crisis.
Executive Director Karen Cunningham of Everyone Home DC, a nonprofit group that provides various housing solutions and resources to people and families experiencing homelessness, explained her initial reaction was concern over the 2023 PIT report.
“We’ve kind of been waiting for the shoe to drop, and it feels like the shoe is starting to drop now,” Cunningham told the Washington Examiner. “And these results are coming out at the same time as the council is considering the budget and lots of cuts to services. It’s especially concerning to see the numbers ticking up in the face of also seeing reduced investments in homeless services and the things that we know work to get people housed, to keep them housed, or prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.”
The metropolitan Washington region at large saw an 18% climb. Washington tallied 512 more people experiencing homelessness than last year, bringing the total from every jurisdiction to 8,944 people.
The demographics raised alarms for officials. The rise in homelessness among seniors increased from 118 people in 2022 to 383. Two-thirds of the senior group accounted for are over 70 years old.
The yearly PIT count is a requisite from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It serves to provide research to inform federal and local policymakers on how to proceed with the city’s homeless population.
Factors contributing to the inflated numbers are the end of pandemic relief programs, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser’s fiscal 2024 budget, and overall high inflation rates.
At the start of the pandemic, the district’s Department of Human Services expanded resources to those experiencing homelessness because the population was at greater risk of health complications. Under the Pandemic Emergency Program for Highly Vulnerable Individuals, people could occupy hotel rooms to protect themselves from exposure to the virus.
However, over the last year, increased pressure from lawmakers and the public has caused many public health policies to lessen. Many programs are coming to an end, and the 15% increase to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expired in September.
“We just continue to ask that the PEP-V housing, which is the pandemic program that put folks in those non-congregate settings, will stay open until the new non-congregate shelter becomes available, which is not currently in the plans,” Cunningham said.
The Democratic mayor has run on promises of ending the homelessness but faced backlash last year when the district forcibly removed encampment tents where homeless people were living. In a debate during her third mayoral campaign run, Bowser said, “I have made it a major platform of my entire time in office to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.”
Bowser’s new budget has been regarded as one of the least frugal since taking office in 2015. It slashes eviction prevention measures and vouchers for those experiencing homelessness.
“We had unprecedented investments in permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals in the FY22 and FY23 budgets,” Cunningham said. “And as of now, there are no new resources budgeted for FY24, which is really concerning because we know that permanent supportive housing works, that housing is the solution to homelessness.”
Everyone Home DC is part of the Way Home Campaign, an advocacy movement to end chronic homelessness in the district. Bowser has supported organizations seeking to gain funds to provide resources to end chronic homelessness in the past.
“We’ve asked for $55.5 million for permanent support of housing vouchers to end chronic homelessness for 1260 individuals and additional vouchers to support 480 families, and we have zero vouchers for FY24 currently,” Cunningham said.
Bowser encouraged a community effort as part of her five-year plan to end homelessness in the district by 2025. It was announced in 2021 in the strategic plan titled Homeward DC 2.0. Cunningham noted there is significantly less emergency rental assistance available as well.
Another factor from the PIT report prompting worry is the rise in unsheltered homeless numbers, meaning more people are opting to stay outside rather than utilize available shelters.
While the mayor’s budget does not allocate funding to manage 24-hour shelter access, some finances will be redirected toward noncongregate shelters, which are spaces like hotels, motels, or dormitories.
“We’re very happy that there is investment in the budget for noncongregate shelter,” Cunningham said.
Some people are hesitant to enter concrete shelters due to factors like noise, living conditions, and limits to what can be brought inside, such as a pet.
The Washington, D.C., region now joins an extensive collection of cities that are undergoing similar spikes, with Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and Spokane, Washington, reporting rises in recent months as well. California cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have been battling this crisis for a while, implementing measures like bolstering city budgets and sending additional law enforcement to maintain order.
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Cunningham highlighted permanent supportive housing as a solution to the crisis, noting that while organizations are struggling to get the resources they need, those difficulties are not a reason to stop investing in supportive measures.
“It’s something that we know works: Housing ends homelessness — permanent supportive housing, in particular, has a very high success rate,” Cunningham said. “And we just think it’s really critical to continue to put resources there so that we don’t see these numbers take up again next year and the year after.”
