[Archived] 2019 Point-in-Time Count: A Snapshot of Homelessness in the City of Alexandria

For Immediate Release: April 25, 2019

The 2019 Annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count revealed 198 persons experiencing homelessness (i.e., unsheltered and in temporary shelter made available by homeless services providers) in the City of Alexandria: 

• 23 Households with Adults and Children (28 Adults and 46 Children)
• 124 Singles (84 Men, 40 Women), including:
  • 10 Unsheltered Singles 
  • 38 Chronically Homeless Singles

The total number of persons identified during the 2019 Count decreased 12 percent since 2018.

The annual enumeration, traditionally done 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 2019 PIT Count on January 23.

Continuum of Care-led teams, comprised of local homeless service providers, Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) staff, and 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 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.  The greatest barriers to ending homelessness in our community are extremely low incomes (i.e., low fixed income and the lack of a living wage received by persons experiencing homelessness) and lack of affordable permanent housing opportunities for the lowest income households (i.e., those with an income 30 percent and below the area median of $110,300).

Homelessness in Metropolitan Washington, the complete report of the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments’ regional PIT Count results, will be posted on their site in the upcoming weeks.

For more information, contact the DCHS Office of Community Services Director, Jessica Lurz at 703.746.5973.

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