PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Distribution

DATE May 19, 2025

Contact: Eliza Wilson, Chair, Homeless Leadership Coalition (541) 410-8534

Email: info@cohomeless.org
Web: Cohomeless.org

Homeless Leadership Coalition Announces 2025 Point In-Time Count Results

Bend, Oregon- May 19, 2025 — The Homeless Leadership Coalition is a collaboration of community partners driven by the knowledge that “we are stronger, healthier, safer communities where people can thrive when everyone has a safe, stable place to call home.”

The Point In-Time Count was conducted January 28th through February 3rd in Central Oregon to capture data on both sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness in our communities. The Point in Time Count is conducted across the United State at the same time every year and is used to provide a snapshot of how many of our community members are experiencing homelessness during that time of the year. It 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. This information helps the federal government to better understand the nature and extent of homelessness.

Highlights from this year’s count include the following:

  • 2025 Point in Time Count shows a 17% increase in homelessness over last year
  • 2108 people experienced literal homelessness in Central Oregon on January 27th, 2025
  • 66% of people counted were unsheltered
  • 70% of those polled have lived in Central Oregon for 5 years or longer
  • More than 80% of those counted have been homeless for more than 12 months
  • 21% of all people experiencing homelessness were Chronically Homeless
  • The total number of youth experiencing homelessness continues to climb

This count provides the Homeless Leadership Coalition (CoC, OR-503) and our collaborators with information about the number of individuals in Central Oregon who are struggling to find adequate housing and shelter. In addition to the total number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness, information is gathered on a wide range of characteristics of those experiencing homelessness. Local partners, including service providers, housing providers, healthcare providers, government agencies and schools will be able to better target support services and develop comprehensive plans to address poverty and homelessness in Central Oregon by taking these population trends into account.

“Point in Time data helps us to identify the needs of our unhoused community members and allows communities to make data driven decisions–tailoring resources to the needs of each unique community. Resources must be designed using data and input from individuals experiencing homelessness to ensure services can be accessed and are effective. Central Oregon service providers continue to improve the methodology of the Point in Time Count each year. The increased capacity of service providers is reflected in this year’s increased number of completed surveys of our neighbors. This collaborative effort highlights the strength of each of the communities in our Region and the continued commitment to caring for our most vulnerable.” Eliza Wilson, Homeless Leadership Coalition Board Chair.

Individuals and families counted through this effort include people living in:

  • Public and Private Shelters
  • Transitional housing
  • Camping, sleeping outdoors or in cars or in RV’s without full hookup
  • Other places not meant for human habitation like a shed or storage unit

“The region has in recent years strongly emphasized the need to remove undercounting as a trait of the Point In Time process. This year’s count has been a step toward that goal. More work, however, remains to ensure that all homeless individuals in Central Oregon are counted every year, and that each salient aspect of their homeless experience is accorded to its due gravity. We need to keep looking into the depth of the wound we are trying to heal,” said John Lodise, Vice Chair of the Homeless Leadership Coalition board.

You can access information and the webinar about the 2025 Point In-Time Count Results here: https://cohomeless.org/agency-tools/point-in-time-count/

The HLC thanks the many service providers and volunteers for their Point in Time Count survey efforts and their daily work to meet the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. Special thanks goes to NeighborImpact for their help with Point in Time Count survey management and data tabulation, as well as their continued leadership as we integrate the Built for Zero methodology into our Homeless Response System. As our region’s council of governments, COIC plays an important role in convening the region to leverage resources and align efforts to achieve success, which is essential to addressing this crisis.

About the Point in Time Count:

Counts occurred in La Pine, Sunriver, Bend, Sisters, Redmond, Prineville, Madras and Warm Springs. Surveys were conducted for the night of January 27th 2025. Surveys were collected between January 28th-February 3rd, all asking about where the individual or household slept on the night of January 27th.

Definitions:

Sheltered: Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Hotel/Motel Paid for with Voucher

Unsheltered: Place not meant for human habitation (i.e. car, outside, abandoned building, etc.)

Household: A group of respondents who self report as a household (could be partners or parents and children)

For more information or to request a presentation on the Point in Time Count results, please contact the HLC at info@cohomeless.org

The Homeless Leadership Coalition (HLC) leads a community centered, coordinated and collaborative response to prevent and end homelessness as the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designated Continuum of Care (CoC OR-503) for Central Oregon. Coalition membership includes representation from Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and represents nonprofit homeless assistance providers, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, governments, businesses, advocates, public housing agencies, school districts, social service providers, mental health agencies, hospitals, universities, affordable housing developers, law enforcement, people with lived experience of homelessness, and others who care about the issues facing our unhoused neighbors. The HLC works to prevent and end homelessness so that our communities will have a comprehensive response in place that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible, or if it can’t be prevented, it is a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience.

Media Contact: Eliza Wilson, ewilson@jbarj.org (541) 410-8534