The number of people experiencing homelessness in the District decreased by 19.9 percent compared to 2020, according to official records.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week the results of the city’s 2021 Point-In-Time (PIT) Count, which is an annual census of the number and demographic characteristics of homeless adults and children.
A total of 5,111 people were counted in January 2021 as experiencing homelessness in the District. (The figure excludes veterans due to their access to social services.)
Homelessness among unaccompanied individuals dropped two percent since 2020 and is just under two this year, which is the first decrease in five years for unaccompanied people.
This year’s PIT count also indicates that family homelessness went down by approximately 50 percent since last year and by 68.1 percent since 2017.
On April 29, DC celebrated one year anniversary of The Brooks, a short-term family housing site named after homeless advocate Donald Brooks, in Ward 3. The Brooks provided housing to nearly 100 families experiencing homelessness and assisted them to stabilize and exit homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
“Through system reforms and unprecedented investments in solutions we know that work to prevent and end homelessness, we are supporting District residents experiencing a housing crisis,” said Laura Zeilinger, Director of DC Department of Human Services (DHS). “We are connecting our neighbors to housing opportunities, ensuring they have a safe and dignified place to stay while they get back on their feet, and access to community-based resources that empower people to prosper.”
“We opened the doors of the Brooks during a difficult period for our community and the world,” said Friendship Place President & CEO Jean-Michel Giraud. “But I am proud of the work our staff has done during the last year to transition a great number of families from homelessness into stable housing. We thank Mayor Bowser for giving us the responsibility and the resources to give families in the District access to a better life.”