[Archived] The 2015 Point-in-Time Count: A Snapshot of Persons Experiencing Homelessness in the City of Alexandria

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2015

The 2015 annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count revealed 267 persons experiencing homelessness (temporarily sheltered and unsheltered) in the City of Alexandria:

34 Households with Adults and Children (37 Adults and 71 Children)
159 Singles (111 Men and 48 Women)
23 Unsheltered Singles (15 Men and 8 Women)
48 Chronically Homeless Singles and 2 Chronically Homeless Families
12 Veterans

The number of persons experiencing homelessness during the 2015 Count was the same as 2014. The decrease in the number of sheltered singles, including those who were chronically homeless and veterans, was offset by increases in the number of families and the number of children in families served in the emergency and Domestic Violence Program shelters.

The annual enumeration performed on the last Wednesday of January provides a one-night unduplicated “snapshot” of persons experiencing homelessness as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness in the City of Alexandria, a public-private collaborative that serves as the local Continuum of Care, conducted the City’s 2015 PIT Count on the night of January 28.

A Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) Homeless Services Coordinator and a team of volunteers manually counted and surveyed persons who were unsheltered (i.e., who slept outdoors or in places not meant for habitation). DCHS and non-profit homeless services staff provided Homeless Management Information System data for persons assisted in residential homeless services programs on the night of the count.

PIT Count results help convey the scope of homelessness, identify and assess unmet needs and gaps in services, inform funding and other planning decisions, and evaluate progress made in preventing and ending homelessness. The Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments’ full regional PIT Count report will be posted here the afternoon of May 13.

For more information, contact the DCHS Office of Community Services Director, Lesa Gilbert at
703.746.5912 or lesa.gilbert@alexandriava.gov.