Washington, DC
Mayor Bowser Releases Annual Point-in-Time Count Results
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Muriel Bowser and the District of Columbia Department of Human Services (DHS) released the District’s 2017 Point-in-Time (PIT) count, which reflects the number of persons and families experiencing homelessness in the District on January 25, 2017. This year’s count indicates a 21.8 percent reduction in the number of families experiencing homelessness; 10.5 percent reduction in the number of persons experiencing homelessness; and 2.7 percent reduction in unaccompanied individuals compared to the 2016 results.
“Two years ago, I made a bold promise—to end homelessness in the District of Columbia,” said Mayor Bowser. “We still have a way to go, but because of Homeward DC, our strategic plan to fulfill this promise, we are making significant progress in ensuring every DC resident has a place to call home and an equal shot at success.”
The Homeward DC plan, created by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, outlines Mayor Bowser’s unprecedented investments and broad range of initiatives to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring throughout the District. This multi-pronged approach brings to scale solutions to end homelessness, such as year-round access to shelter, a robust homeless prevention program, increased capacity of the homeless system to quickly connect families with housing opportunities, and expanded services for youth experiencing homelessness.
“We are so grateful for Mayor Bowser’s leadership and all of the partners who have come to the table to help us prevent and end homelessness,” said DHS Director Laura Zeilinger. “We are working every day to ensure each District resident experiencing homelessness has been offered the housing resources and supportive services they need.”
The Bowser Administration has invested more in affordable housing than any other jurisdiction in the country, committing more than $106 million to the construction and preservation of more than 1,200 housing units in the last fiscal year. Since taking office, Mayor Bowser has launched new homeless prevention services which have prevented a shelter stay for almost 3,000 families and increased investments in permanent housing programs by nearly 60 percent, developed interim eligibility to provide immediate shelter for families in urgent need, and connected more than 1,800 veterans to permanent housing.
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