Dallas and Collin counties have the lowest number of homeless since 2015, according to the data

Dallas and Collin counties counted significantly fewer people experiencing homelessness in January's timely count — 3,718 — making it the lowest measured since 2015.

Housing Forward, the lead agency for Dallas and Collin counties' homelessness response system, marked 2024 as the third consecutive year of homelessness reductions, after steady increases over the past 10 years.

January's on-time count represented a 12% drop from a year ago's count. Since 2021, when homelessness peaked, overall homelessness has fallen by 19% and unsheltered homelessness has fallen by 24%, according to Housing Forward.

Backed by millions in private and public funding starting in 2021, Housing Forward leaders attribute the reductions to a transformation of the All Neighbors Coalition, about 150 local organizations working to end homelessness.

“The organizations that make up the All Neighbors Coalition are better aligned with our strategies than ever before,” said David Woody, III, a coalition board member and president and CEO of the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center in downtown Dallas. . “We better understand what it takes to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring, and we are committed to working together to ensure this progress continues.”

Housing Forward hosted its annual keynote Tuesday at the Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District. Local leaders released data from January's point-in-time count, a federally mandated census that shows trends in people experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties. Woody, a respected member of the Homelessness Response Network, received a lifetime achievement award from the All Neighbors Coalition.

The talk on the state of homelessness — led by Housing Forward leaders and members of All Neighbors — gave a snapshot of the number of people in two North Texas counties who were sheltered and homeless.

The January count also found declines compared to 2023 in various subpopulations: family homelessness fell 15%, youth homelessness fell 22% and veteran homelessness fell 21%.

Families with children made up nearly 22% of families who experienced homelessness, according to the data. Nearly 64% of people experiencing homelessness are male, almost 36% are female, and less than 1% identify as more than one gender, non-binary, transgender or questioning.

Of the 3,718 homeless people counted in January, 88% were from Dallas County and 12% were from Collin County.

Housing Forward President and CEO Sara Kahn said Dallas and Collin counties saw decreases in every subpopulation, with no increases in any population measured.

Since the 2021 transformation — which expanded pathways to health and housing — overall homelessness has fallen by 19% and unsheltered homelessness by 24%, according to data from Housing Forward. About 29% of people counted were homeless, while 71% were in a shelter.

More than 10,100 people experiencing homelessness have been housed since 2021.

Despite the dramatic progress, the data also reveal ongoing challenges, particularly in the disproportionate impact on residents of color.

While black households make up only 19% of the total population in Dallas and Collin counties, nearly 57% of people experiencing homelessness are black. That imbalance is a byproduct of the broader impacts of racism and systemic inequality, Kahn said. About 28% of people experiencing homelessness are white, more than 9% are Hispanic, and about 1% are Asian.

“The data continues to support our focus on racial equity,” Kahn said. “A key part of transforming our system is our commitment to advancing racial equity by identifying and dismantling disparities within the homelessness response system.”

Federal officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have called the region a “top performer” in curbing homelessness: Dallas and Collin counties are among only 27% of communities in the country that saw reductions in 2023.

“The success we're seeing in Dallas and Collin counties runs counter to national trends,” said Peter Brodsky, Housing Forward's board chairman. “Together, we've built an infrastructure that now houses more people experiencing homelessness than ever before and provides critical wrap-around services to ensure people don't fall back into homelessness.”

Brodsky emphasized the need for more funding, encouraging the audience to support the proposals in the Dallas bond election that will promote the development of affordable housing, add permanent supportive housing options and help to repair the bridge aging HVAC and generator systems.

The total number of homeless people in the US will increase by 12% in 2023, according to HUD.

In February, HUD committed $27 million in annual funding to the All Neighbors Coalition, a 44% increase in performance-based funding compared to 2021 levels.

While Housing Forward leaders are excited to see such results, Brodsky says that doesn't mean their efforts can slow down. In fact, the lead agency announced a new target on Tuesday: to reduce street homelessness by 50% by 2026, compared to 2021 levels.

Brodsky said Housing Forward is working toward acquiring a $30 million public-private investment that will put the organization on a path to achieving that goal.

Housing Forward will enter the next phase of ending homelessness, emphasizing the closure of encampments in public spaces with a targeted “Road Home” approach. The agency plans to expedite the process by having behavioral health care and rehousing assistance in place.

It's an evidence-based model that aims to address public health and safety concerns while providing a lifeline for neighbors enduring unsheltered homelessness, Kahn said.

CORRECTION, 6 p.m., April 30, 2024: An earlier version of this story incorrectly cited data from Housing Forward that households with children made up nearly 78% of households experiencing homelessness in 2024. Only 22% of households were adults with children, while 78% were single adult