The "point in time" count of homeless people in Dallas and Collin Counties this year turned to the lowest number since 2019. The count by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance showed 4,410 people without permanent housing.
The "Point in Time" count showed almost 4,000 homeless in Dallas County 400 in Collin County. The total was the lowest since 2019, but the number of "chronically homeless" has doubled to more than 1,000.
"As you drive around Dallas and Collin Counties, it's easy to see our unhoused neighbors do not have a safe or adequate place to call home," said Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Chief Executive Joli Angel Robinson.
Ashley Brundage, leader of the Dallas Rental Assistance Collaborative at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, says increased rent and housing prices threaten to drive many into homelessness.
"Since 2019, housing costs have skyrocketed, outpacing incomes and making it difficult for vulnerable families to maintain housing," Brundage said.
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance has worked to break down homeless numbers by different backgrounds. The organization says family homelessness has dropped 20% since 2019, from 1,025 to 822. Veteran homelessness has dropped 26%, from 423 to 314.
"We will delve deeper into system metrics, thoroughly investigate data trends, identify areas of improvement, and course-correct sooner," said Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Board Chairman Peter Brodsky.
"We are one coordinated system that brings partners together around a common vision of making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring," Robinson said.
With numbers dropping, Robinson warns more people who have found permanent housing are returning to homelessness. She says 22% of people who have moved into permanent housing were homeless again in two years, up from 17% in 2019.
"Growth in permanent supportive housing stock has not kept pace with need over the last few years," Robinson said.
Robinson says no state has adequate rental housing available for the lowest income renters. The National Low Income Housing Coalition says there are only 20 affordable apartments available in Dallas for every 100 renters earning less than 30% of the median income.
Across Texas, the coalition says 45% of "extremely low-income renter households" are part of the workforce, 21% are seniors and 15% are disabled.
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