[Archived] The 2016 Point-in-Time Count: A Snapshot of Homelessness in the City of Alexandria

For Immediate Release: May 11, 2016

The 2016 Annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count revealed 224 persons experiencing homelessness (i.e., unsheltered and in temporary shelter made available by homeless services providers) in the City of Alexandria:

28 Households with Adults and Children (31 Adults and 64 Children)
129 Singles (97 Men and 32 Women)
12 Unsheltered Singles (9 Men and 3 Women)
47 Chronically Homeless Singles
5 Veterans

The total number of persons identified as experiencing homelessness during the 2016 Count decreased by 16 percent from 2015, comprising a 19 percent decrease in single adults, an 18 percent decrease in families, and a 13 percent decrease in persons in families.

The annual enumeration, traditionally held 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 2016 PIT Count on Thursday, January 28, the designated inclement weather date, due to the arrival of the 2016 blizzard a few days earlier.

A team of Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) staff led by the Homeless Services/PATH Coordinator, 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 and client-level surveys 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. See Homelessness in Metropolitan Washington, the complete report of the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments’ regional 2016 PIT Count results.

For more information, contact the DCHS Office of Community Services Director, Jessica Lurz
at 703.746.5973 or jessica.lurz@alexandriava.gov.