Department of Housing
CONSIDERATION OF THE
2026 POINT IN TIME HOMELESS COUNT
Jennifer O’Reilly-Jones
Program Coordinator
October 21, 2025
Department of Housing
HUD Requirements
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires all Continuums of Care (CoCs) to conduct a Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing sheltered homelessness every year.
> Includes individuals staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and at motels paid for by government or social services agencies. > Data is pulled from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a database used by homeless service providers
• HUD only requires CoCs to conduct a Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness every other year. > Includes people living outdoors, in vehicles, or in places not meant for human habitation.
> Large-scale effort conducted over a 24-hour period
> Approximately 200 volunteers canvas the city and administer a survey. > The Police Department’s HOPE Team counts in parks and natural areas. > Includes a supplemental youth count to count people ages 18-24. 2 Department of Housing
Biennial Unsheltered Counts
• Each year, out of nearly 400 CoCs, approximately 20 to 30 CoCs do not conduct an unsheltered Point-in-Time Count.
> The majority of CoCs that conduct an unsheltered count biennially are in Florida and California.
> In 2025, 15 California CoCs chose not to conduct an unsheltered count. • Results from the Point-in-Time Homeless Count contribute to regional, state, and national data on homelessness and are used by public funders to allocate resources to the CoC.
> Opting to forgo an unsheltered count does not jeopardize funding. Funders rely on the prior year’s unsheltered count data in years when an unsheltered count is not conducted.
• The Pasadena CoC conducted an unsheltered count in 2025 and is therefore not required to conduct one in 2026. A sheltered count will be conducted in 2026 to remain in compliance with HUD requirements.
3 Department of Housing
Point-in-Time vs. Annual Counts
• In 1992, the City of Pasadena became the first city in California to conduct a dedicated Point-in-Time Homeless Count.
• Since then, the City has conducted both sheltered and unsheltered Point-in-Time Counts every year, except for in 2021 when the unsheltered count was canceled due to the
pandemic.
• In 2023, the City developed the Annual Count to supplement the Point-in-Time Count and to support the development of the CoC’s Homelessness Plan.
> The Annual Count includes all people who experience homelessness in a calendar year.
> Calculated using data pulled from HMIS.
> Unlike the Point-in-Time Count, the Annual Count is not susceptible to daily fluctuations and environmental impacts.
> Most data points collected in the Point-in-Time Count can also be collected through the Annual Count (e.g., age, race, gender, health conditions). 4 Department of Housing
2025 Unsheltered Count Costs
Type Cost
City Staff (508 hours) $52,372
Volunteer Coordinator $16,560
Data Analyst $3,520
Printing/Supplies $1881
TOTAL $74,333
5 • City staff costs includes staff from Housing, DoIT, Public Health, Police, and Fire Departments
Department of Housing
Unsheltered Count Benefits
• The unsheltered Point-in-Time Count survey captures data points that are not typically collected in HMIS.
> “Where did you sleep last night?” (e.g., sidewalk, vehicle, park, bus stop) > “In the past week, have you slept in any city other than Pasadena?” > “What city were you living in when you most recently became homeless?” > “How many years did you live in that city before you became homeless?” • Provides an opportunity to distribute cold weather supplies (e.g., hats, gloves, hand warmers), resource cards, vaccines, and Narcan overdose reversal kits.
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Conclusion
• The unsheltered Point-in-Time Count requires a substantial amount of City resources yet produces limited novel data which does not significantly impact the strategic planning of homeless services.
• The Annual Count is a more reliable data source for tracking the size and demographics of the homeless population.
• Conducting the unsheltered count biennially rather than every year would allow resources to be redirected to a deeper analysis of year-round data, the implementation of the
Homelessness Plan strategies, and a more effective data-driven response to homelessness.
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